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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 
Bulletin 113 



IFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN 
GULLS AND TERNS 



ORDER LONGIPENNES 



BY 

ARTHUR CLEVELAND BENT 
Of Taunton, Massachusetts 




WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1921 



U. S. NATIONAL. MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. I 




9~ 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 
Bulletin 113 






LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN 
GULLS AND TERNS 



ORDER LONGIPENNES 



BY 

ARTHUR CLEVELAND BENT 

Of Taunton, Massachusetts 




WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1921 









LIBRARY OF CONGftESS 

RECEIVED 

SEP1 71921 

DOCUMENTS DIVISION 



ADVERTISEMENT. 

The scientific publications of the United States National Museum 
consist of two series, the Proceedings and the Bulletins. 

The Proceedings, the first volume of which was issued in 1878, are 
intended primarily as a medium for the publication of original, and 
usually brief, papers based on the collections of the National Museum, 
presenting newly-acquired facts in zoology, geology, and anthro- 
pology, including descriptions of new forms of animals, and revisions 
of limited groups. One or two volumes are issued annually and dis- 
tributed to libraries and scientific organizations. A limited number 
of copies of each paper, in pamphlet form, is distributed to specialists 
and others interested in the different subjects as soon as printed. 
The date of publication is recorded in the tables of contents of the 
volumes. 

The Bulletins, the first of which was issued in 1875, consist of a 
series of separate publications comprising chiefly monographs of 
large zoological groups and other general systematic treatises (oc- 
casionally in several volumes), faunal works, reports of expeditions, 
and catalogues of type-specimens, special collections, etc. The ma- 
jority of the volumes are octavos, but a quarto size has been adopted 
in a few instances in which large plates were regarded as indis- 
pensable. 

Since 1902 a series of octavo volumes containing papers relating to 
the botanical collections of the Museum, and known as the Contribu- 
tions from the National Herbarium, has been published as bulletins. 

The present work forms No. 113 of the Bulletin series. 

William deC. Ravenel, 
Administrative Assistant to the Secretary, 
In charge of the United States National Museum. 

Washington, D. C. 

in 



INTRODUCTION. 



This Bulletin contains a continuation of the work on the life his- 
tories of North American birds, begun in Bulletin 107. The same 
general plan has been followed and the same sources of information 
have been utilized. Nearly all of those who contributed material 
for, or helped in preparing, the former volume have rendered similar 
service in this case. In addition to those whose contributions have 
been previously acknowledged, my thanks are due to the following 
contributors : 

Photographs have been contributed, or their use authorized, by 
D. Appleton & Co., S. C. Arthur, A. M. Bailey, R. H. Beck, B. S. 
Bowdish, L. W. Brownell, G. G. Cantwell, F. M. Chapman, H. H. 
Cleaves, Colorado Museum of Natural History, E. H. Forbush, A. 
O. Gross, O. J. Heinemann, A. L. V. Manniche, W. M. Pierce, M. S. 
Ray, J. Richardson, R, B. Rockwell, R. W. Shufeldt, J. F. Street, 
University of Minnesota, C. H. Wells, J. Wilkinson, and F. M. Wood- 
ruff. 

Notes and data have been contributed by S. C. Arthur, R. H. Beck, 
F. H. Carpenter, H. H. Cleaves, E. H. Forbush, F. C. Hennessey, R. 
Hoffmann, F. C. Lincoln, H. Massey, O. J. Murie, C. J. Pennock, 
J. H. Rice, Katie M. Roads, and G. H. Stuart. With the consent of 
Dr. L. C. Sanford and R. H. Beck, the American Museum of Natural 
History has placed at the author's disposal Mr. Beck's extensive notes 
made on the Brewster and Sanford expedition to South America. 

The distributional part of this Bulletin has been done mainly by 
the author, with considerable volunteer help from Mr. F. Seymour 
Hersey, whose time is now otherwise occupied. Dr. Louis B. Bishop 
has devoted much time to revising the paragraphs on distribution 
and on plumages. 

Our attention has been called to an error in Bulletin 107. On page 
32 a quotation from Dr. T. S. Roberts was inserted as referring to 
the food of the eared grebe; this really refers to the food of 
Franklin's gull and not to that of the grebe. 

Readers of Bulletin 107 have suggested some changes. Conse- 
quently, in this and subsequent Bulletins in this series, the exact 
details will be .given, when available, in such casual records as are 
given; but it must be remembered that no attempt will be made to 



VI BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

mention all casual records; only a few can be given, to suggest the 
limits of the wanderings of the species. Another addition of value, 
suggested and furnished by Dr. T. S. Palmer, is information regard- 
ing reservations and the species which are protected in them. As 
some readers have questioned the scale on which the eggs are illus- 
trated, it seems desirable to say that in Bulletin 107, in this one, and 
in subsequent Bulletins, all eggs are, and will be, shown exactly life- 
size, the plates being produced by an exact photographic process, 

The Author. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Family Stercoraridae . . 1 

Catharacta skua , 1 

Skua 1 

Habits i 1 

Distribution 6 

Catharacta chilensis 7 

Chilean Skua . 7 

Habits 7 

Stercorarius pornarinus 7 

Pomarine jaeger 7 

Habits . J 7 

Distribution 13 

Stercorarius parasiticus 14 

Parasitic jaeger 14 

Habits 14 

Distribution 19 

Stercorarius longicaudus 21 

Long-tailed jaeger 21 

Habits :__ 21 

Distribution 28 

Family Laridae - 29 

Pagophila alba 29 

Ivory gull 29 

Habits 29 

Distribution 35 

Rissa tridactyla tridactyla 36 

Kittiwake 36 

Habits 36 

Distribution 43 

Rissa tridactyla pollicatis 44 

Pacific kittiwake 44 

Habits 44 

Distribution 48 

Rissa brevirostris 49 

Red-legged kittiwake 49 

Habits 49 

Distribution 51 

Larus hyperboreus 52 

Glaucous gull 52 

Habits 52 

Distribution 60 

Larus leucopterus 62 

Iceland gull 62 

Habits 62 

Distribution 64 

vu 



VIII TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Family Laridae — Continued. Page. 

Larus glaucescens 65 

Glaucous-winged gull 65 

Habits 65 

Distribution 73 

Larus kumlieni 73 

Kumlien's Gull 73 

Habits 73 

Distribution 75 

Larus nelsoni 76 

Nelson's Gull 76 

Habits 76 

Distribution 76 

Larus marinus 77 

Great black-backed gull ■. 77 

Habits 77 

Distribution 85 

Larus schistisagus 86 

Slaty-backed gull 86 

Habits 86 

Distribution ! , . 89 

Larus occidentalis 89 

Western gull 89 

Habits 89 

Distribution 98 

Larus fuscus affinis 99 

British lesser black-backed gull *. 99 

Habits 99 

Distribution 101 

Larus argentatus 102 

Herring gull i 102 

Habits 102 

Distribution 119 

Larus thayeri 120 

Thayer's gull 120 

Habits 120 

Distribution ^ 122 

Larus vegae 122 

Vega gull . 122 

Habits 122 

Distribution 124 

Larus californicus 124 

California gull 124 

Habits 124 

Distribution 131 

Larus delawarensis 132 

Ring-billed gull 132 

Habits — 132 

Distribution 139 

Larus brachyrhynchus 140 

Short-billed gull 140 

Habits 140 

Distribution 145 

Larus canus— 146 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX 

Family Laridae— Continued. Page 

Mew gull 146 

Habits 146 

Distribution 147 

Larus heermanni 148 

Heermann's gull 148 

Habits 148 

Distribution 153 

Larus artricilla : 154 

Laughing gull 154 

Habits a, 154 

Distribution 162 

Larus franklini 163 

Franklin's gull 163 

Habits 163 

Distribution 174 

Larus Philadelphia 175 

Bonaparte's gull 1 175 

Habits 1 175 

Distribution _. 179 

Larus minutus 180 

Little .gull 180 

Habits 180 

Distribution 182 

Rhodostethia rosea 183 

Ross's gull 183 

Habits 183 

Distribution 190 

Xema sabini 191 

Sabine's gull 191 

Habits 191 

Distribution 196 

Gelochelidon nilotica 197 

Gull-billed tern 197 

Habits 197 

Distribution . 202 

Sterna caspia 202 

Caspian tern 202 

Habits 202 

Distribution 210 

Sterna maxina 211 

Royal tern 211 

Habits 211 

Distribution F 218 

Sterna elegans 219 

Elegant tern 219 

Habits 11- 219 

Distribution 220 

Sterns sandvicensis acuflavida i 221 

Cabot's tern 221 

Habits „ 221 

Distribution 226 

Sterna trudeaui 227 



X TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Family Laridae — Continued. Page. 

Trudeau's tern 227 

Habits 227 

Distribution 228 

Sterna forsteri 229 

Forster's tern 229 

Habits 229 

Distribution 235 

Sterna hirundo . . 236 

Common tern 236 

Habits 236 

Distribution 248 

Sterna paradisaea 249 

Arctic tern 249 

Habits 249 

Distribution 255 

Sterna dougalli 256 

Roseate tern 256 

Habits 256 

Distribution 264 

Sterna aleutica 265 

Aleutian tern 265 

Habits 265 

Distribution 269 

Sterna antillarum 270 

Least tern 270 

Habits 270 

Distribution 278 

Sterna fuscata 279 

Sooty tern 279 

Habits 279 

Distribution T 286 

Sterna anaetheta 287 

Bridled tern 287 

Habits 287 

Distribution 289 

Chlidonias nigra surinamensis 290 

Black tern _ 290 

Habits 290 

Distribution 298 

Chlidonias leucoptera 299 

White-winged black tern 299 

Habits 299 

Distribution 301 

Anous stolidus 301 

Noddy 301 

Habits - 301 

Distribution 309 

Family Rynchopidae 310 

Rynchops nigra 310 

Black skimmer 310 

Habits 310 

Distribution - 318 

References to bibliography 319 

Explanation of plates 329 

Index 339 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS 
AND TERNS. ORDER LONGIPENNES. 



By Arthur Cleveland Bent, 
of Taunton, Massachusetts. 



Family STERCOKARIDAE, Skuas and Jaegers. 

CATHARACTA SKUA Briinnich . 

SKtTA. 

HABITS. 

The following quotation from the graphic pen of Mr. F. St. Mars 
(1912) gives a better introduction to this bold and daring species 
than anything I could write, and his article, The Eagle Guard, from 
which I shall quote again, is well worth reading as a striking char- 
acter study : 

Then the scimitar wings shut with a crisp swish, and he became a statue in 
dull, unpolished bronze, impassively regarding the polecat, who lay with her 
back broken, feebly struggling to drag into cover. It is a shock to the human 
nerves to see the life blasted out of a beast almost 'twixt breath and breath ; 
what one moment is a gliding, muscular form, instinct with life and energy, 
confident in power, and the next moment a crumpled heap of fur, twitching 
spasmodically. But it was a searchlight on the reputation of the eagle guard 
and the stories one had heard anent the superstitions of the natives. 

The polecat, being hungry with the gnawing hunger of a mother and pre- 
suming on a swirl of mist, had tried to steal up the knoll to the two great eggs 
that lay in the hollow atop all unguarded. Had come then a thin, high, whirring 
shriek, exactly like the noise made by a sword cutting through the air, and a 
single thud that might have been the thud of a rifle bullet striking an animal. 
Then — well, then the scene described above. 

Big, powerfully built, brown with the black brown of his own native peat 
bogs, armed to the teeth, long and slash-winged, whose flight feathers were like 
the cutting edge of a sword, insolent with the fine, swelling insolence of power, 
and greatly daring, no wonder men had chosen him as the eagle guard, this 
mighty bird, this great skua of the naturalists, this Bonxie, mascot, and super- 
stitious godling of the fishermen. Wah ! he was a bird. 

We know so little about the skua, as an American bird, that I 
shall have to draw largely from European writers for its life history. 
It is rare on the American side of the Atlantic Ocean, and is not 
known to breed here regularly, although it probably does so occasion- 
ally or sparingly in Greenland or on the Arctic Islands. 

% l 



2 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Nesting. — Yarrell (1871) says: 

The great skua arrives in the Shetiancls about the end of April, and its nest, 
which consists of a neatly rounded cavity in the moss and heather of the 
highest moorlands, is prepared in the latter half of May. According to Maj. 
Feilden, the birds appear to prepare several nests before they decide on using 
one. There is no difficulty in finding the nests, as the parent birds at once 
attack any intruder upon their domain with fierce and repeated swoops. When 
handling the nestling the editor found their assaults were unremitting; first 
one bird and then the other wheeling short, and coming down at full speed, 
almost skimming the ground. At about 15 yards' distance the strong clawed 
feet are lowered and held stiffly out, producing for the moment a very ungainly 
appearance, and it seems as if the bird would strike the observer full in the 
center of the body, but on quickly raising the hand or stick the bird rises also, 
the whirr and vibration of its pinions being distinctly heard and felt. Its 
ordinary flight is soaring and stately. On leaving the territory of one pair, 
the attack is taken up by another, and so on ; for the great skuas do not nest 
in close proximity. 

Morris (1903) writes: 

The nest of the skua is of large size, as well as somewhat carefully con- 
structed ; the materials used being grasses, lichens, moss, and heath. The bird 
places it on the tops of the mountains or cliffs in the neighborhood of the sea, 
but not on the rocks themselves. They build separately in pairs. 

Eggs. — The skua lays ordinarily two eggs, rarely three, and some- 
times only one. These vary in shape from ovate or slightly elongated 
ovate to short ovate. The shell is smooth, with a dull luster. The 
ground color is " Saccardo's olive," " Isabella color," or " deep olive 
buff." The markings are usually not profuse and consist of spots 
and blotches, scattered irregularly over the egg^ of " sepia," " bis- 
ter," " snuff brown," or " tawny olive." There are also usually a few 
faint spots or blotches of pale shades of drab or gray. Rev. F. C. K. 
Jourdain has collected for me the measurements of 68 eggs, which 
average 70.58 by 49.43 millimeters; the eggs showing the four ex- 
tremes measure 76.3 by 50.4, 71.5 by 53.2, and 62 by 44.5 millimeters. 

Young. — Macgillivray (1852) quotes Captain Vetch as saying: 

The young bird is a nimble, gallant little animal, and almost as soon as 
hatched leaves the nest. On the approach of danger he secretes himself in 
holes or behind stones with great art, and when captured at least makes a show 
of defense that is quite amusing. 

Plumages. — I have never seen the downy young, but Coues (1903) 
describes it as "buffy-gray, ruddier above than below." Eidgway 
(1887) quotes Dresser as calling it "brownish or cinnamon-gray, 
rather darker in color on the upper parts than on the under surface of 
the body." 

I have not been able to examine enough specimens to .come to any 
definite conclusions as to the sequence of molts and plumages. Coues 
(1903) gives the following good description of the young of the year: 

Size much less; bill weaker and slenderer; cere illy developed; striae not 
apparent and its ridges and angles all want sharpness of definition. Wings 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 2 





LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 6 

short and rounded, the quills having very different proportional length from 
those of adults; second longest, third but little shorter, first about equal to 
fourth. The inner or longest secondaries reach, when the wing is folded, to 
within an inch or so of tip of longest primary. Central rectrices a little shorter 
than the next. Colors generally as in adult, but duller and more blended, 
having few or no white spots; reddish spots dull, numerous, and large, espe- 
cially along edge of forearm and on least and lesser coverts. On underparts 
the colors lighter, duller, and more blended than above; prevailing tint light 
dull rufous, most marked on abdomen, but there and elsewhere more or less 
obscured with ashy or plumbeous. Remiges and rectrices dull brownish-black; 
their shafts yellowish-white, darker terminally. At bases of primaries there 
exists the ordinary large white space, but it is more restricted than in adults, 
and so much hidden by the bastard quills that it is hardly apparent on outside 
of wing, though conspicuous underneath. 

Young birds may become indistinguishable from adults at the first 
postnuptial molt, when a little over a year old, but perhaps not for 
a year or two later. 

Adults seem to have but one complete molt — the postnuptial — in 
August, Adults can be distinguished by their larger size and by the 
elongated feathers of the neck with the whitish central streaks. 

Food. — Yarrell (1871) writes of the food of the skua: 

Their food is fish, but they devour also the smaller water birds and their 
eggs, the flesh of whales, as well as other carrion, and are observed to tear their 
prey to pieces while holding it under their crooked talons. They rarely take 
the trouble to fish for themselves, but, watching the smaller gulls and terns 
while thus employed, they no sooner observe one to have been successful than 
they immediately give chase, pursuing it with fury; and having obliged it 
from fright to disgorge the recently swallowed fish, they descend to catch it, 
being frequently so rapid and certain in their movements and aim as to seize 
their prize before it reaches the water. The stomachs of a pair which were 
shot were full of the flesh of the kittiwake, and the castings consisted of the 
bones and feathers of that small gull. Heysham has noticed an adult female 
on the coast of Cumberland, which allowed herself to be seized while she was 
in the act of killing a herring gull. It also feeds on fish offal, and the editor 
found by the side of a nestling some disgorged but otherwise uninjured 
herrings of large size. 

Behavior. — In appearance as well as in habits the skua seems to 
share the attributes of the Eaptores and the Laridae; its strong, 
hooked bill and its sharp, curved claws enable it to stand upon and 
rend asunder the victims of its rapacious habits. Its flight is also 
somewhat hawk like. Yet it stands horizontally and runs about 
nimbly like a gull. Morris (1903) says that it "soars at times at a 
great height, and flies both strongly and rapidly, in an impetuous, 
dashing manner." Mr. Walter H. Rich has sent me the following 
notes on the flight of this species : 

When on the wing, which is the greater part of the time, the skua shows 
in the air hawk like, rather than like the gulls, with whom we rather expect 



4 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

to find its resemblances. Its appearance in the air is somewhat like the 
buteonine hawks, except that its wing action, in its seemingly restrained power 
and forceful stroke, suggests the unhurried flight of a falcon, or, perhaps, 
more accurately — since the wings are at all times fully opened, employing 
their full sweep in their action, their primaries slightly separated at the tips 
and slightly recurved — the majestic flight of an eagle. The wing spread is 
ample, the wing well balanced in its proportions of length and breadth, well 
combined to produce both power and speed. The figure is somewhat burly 
and chunky as compared with the lighter appearance of the gull and the 
more racy lines of the yager. The impression of muscularity is heightened 
by the short, square-cut tail, carried somewhat uptilted, giving the fowl an 
appearance unmistakable in the eyes of one having once recognized it. This 
peculiarity of tail, which to me seemed slightly forked instead of having 
the central feathers lengthened, as in others of this group, together with the 
broad white patch across the bases of the primaries, furnishes a good field 
mark for the identification of the species. 

Macgillivray (1852) says: 

Its voice resembles that of a young gull, being sharp and shrill, and it is from 
the resemblance of its cry to that of the word skua or skui that it obtains its 
popular name. 

Mr. Rich's notes state : 

Whatever the case elsewhere, on the fishing grounds this seemed a silent 
species. The writer heard no sound at all which he was able with certainty to 
trace to it during his acquaintance with it. 

The most interesting phase of the skua's life history is its behavior 
toward other species. It is certainly a bold and dashing tyrant, 
more than a match for anything of its size and u terror to many birds 
and beasts of larger size. Mr. F. St. Mars (1912) describes its 
attack on the golden eagle, which dared to venture too near its nest, 
in the following graphic words : 

Some minutes elapsed, in spite of the warnings, before the human eye could 
have made out a faint dot growing out of the mist round the tail of an inlet. 
It enlarged rapidly, however, that dot, and one saw that it was really a real, 
live eagle, a golden eagle of Scotland. Mind you, there was none of that sublime 
soaring in the infinite that the books tell of. He came, as any mere common 
bird might have come, beating up along the shore with heavy, flapping flight, 
which, by the way, looked much slower than it really was, and he said nothing 
as he came. 

The picture, as it stood, of that somber, bronze-gold winged giant, beating 
slowly up against the wind in a setting of dim gray sky, jade sea, and dark- 
velvet land, was very fine. It seemed that nothing could have added to its 
bold, wild grandeur. Then something seemed to move across the heavens very 
quickly, and there was a hissing sound as if a mighty sword had cleaved the air. 
Followed then a second phenomenon just like the first, and almost in the 
same instant one realized two distinct facts: Firstly, that the two skuas were 
no longer near their nest ; and, secondly, that the eagle had, with five stu- 
pendous flaps of those vast wings, shot upward into the clouds. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 5 

At the same instant it seemed as though a big brown projectile hurtled past 
exactly beneath him, and a fraction of a second later, as though another one 
had hit him. There was a burst of feathers and a whirl. The eagle appeared 
suddenly to grow much larger, miraculously to sprout an extra and smaller, 
thinner pair of wings, and to reel in his flight, recover, reel again, turn half 
over, as if grappling some invisible foe, drop like a thunderbolt some 200 
feet, and then break into two pieces, the larger piece slanting upward on the 
one hand and the smaller executing the same wonderful aerial evolution on the 
other. 

Then were the facts made plain. The smaller portion was the skua. He had 
darted like lightning upon the eagle's back and clung there for a second or two — 
only for a second or two, but it seemed minutes while the two fell — after the 
king had avoided his mate's first reckless, headlong, crazy rush. 

I have no hope to describe to you what followed, because the laboring human 
eye was far too slow to see and the brain to grasp the electric-quick passage of 
events. I only know that one was dimly aware that some stupendous battle 
was going on up there in the dim northern heavens ; that bodies, large bodies, 
bursting with life and a dozen uncurbed wild passions, were sweeping and 
swerving, and swooping, and swaying, and streaking, and stabbing, and slash- 
ing, and striving, and screaming in one wild welter of wildering speed. And all 
the while the land below, save for the huddled sheep, lay as deserted as if a 
hand had come down and swept it clean of life. Yet one knew that in reality 
hundreds and hundreds of sharp eyes were watching from cover that battle of 
the overlords of the air and calculating the chances of life upon its issue. 

Slowly, second by furious second, inch by hard-fought inch it looked from the 
earth, but mile by mile it was really, up there in the unbounded airy spaces, 
the battle receded, receded upward and northward, till the straining eye was 
at last only conscious of a faraway blur, a dancing of specks, as it were gnats. 
on the vision, and then, with an almost audible sigh from the hidden specta- 
tors, of nothing. 

Mr. Rich's impressions of the behavior of the skua are expressed 
in his notes as follows : 

This is the overlord of the fishing grounds, fearing no bird here. Whether 
the skua would successfully contest with the black-backed gull the writer is 
unable to state, as the two did not come together under his observation, but 
he thinks that the skua need have little uneasiness as to the outcome of bat- 
tle. The difference in size between the black back and the skua is mostly a 
matter of measurements, due in part, at least, to the skua's shortness of 
rudder. In bulk and weight there is less difference, probably, than is shown 
by these figures, and in physical powers, judging from appearances, there is 
little to choose between them. Of the two, the skua's armament seems the 
better fitted for damaging an enemy, and he seems to possess greater speed and 
skill in maneuvering — a flight of greater power and control than has his 
rival, who, gull-like, is a drifter rather than a flier. Certain it is that the 
hag, tern, kittiwake, and herring gull move respectfully aside when the " sea 
hen" comes sailing above them, for all these he harries and robs constantly, 
performing in the realms of the sea the same robber tactics which the raptorial 
birds carry on among the feathered people ashore. Are the hags or the gulls 
squabbling over a bit of waste or striving to tear a " poke-blown " fish which 
has drifted away from the steamer's side ; over the struggling mass there comes 
the shadow of broad wings; a heavy body drops among them regardless of 
what may be beneath it; the weaker move respectfully aside and leave the 



6 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

newcomer in undisturbed possession of the spoil. Over his shoulder the skua 
gazes at the steamer, making only now and then a tentative pull at the body 
of his prey, until it has floated to a safe distance, when he begins to rip and 
tear it with his powerful beak. To lose all interest in that particular morsel, 
hag or gull that comes near the spoil needs to look but once at that lowered 
head with its bristling crest, and the powerful wing upraised to strike. 

Winter. — The status of the skua as an American bird is based 
largely on its occurrence on the fishing banks off the coasts of New- 
foundland and New England. Probably the birds which occur 
there in winter are of this species, but the following notes by Mr. 
Eich suggest the possibility that the birds seen there in summer may 
be of one of the Antarctic species : 

In the main, the " sea hen " seems to have been considered a winter visitor 
to our coasts, somewhat unusual during the summer months, yet my records 
show its presence here from June 19 to November 5, with its period of greatest 
abundance from August 12 to September 10 (this in the " South part of the 
channel," 35 miles east; south from Sankaty Head, 68° —42' W. ; 41° —20' N.), 
with numbers diminishing thereafter until the last appearance therein noted 
on November 5, 1913. The writer remained upon the fishing grounds 21 days 
later, but did not again note its presence there. 

These facts have suggested to Mr. Norton that the " sea hen " of the sum- 
mer months may have come from the Antarctic with the shearwaters, returning 
thither to breed among the penguin rookeries of that little-known continent on 
the underside of the world; while the skuas of the winter months may come 
from the northern breeding grounds of the species. 

It is regrettable that I was unable to collect any specimens with which to 
make comparisons and to go deeper into this matter. There would have been 
very little difficulty in getting material, as the " sea hen," while more careful 
than the " gull-chasers," was not very shy, and shots at 30 yards or even less 
would have been frequent. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Islands of the North Atlantic Ocean, Greenland, 
Iceland, the Faroe and Shetland Islands. Said by Kumlien to breed 
at Lady Franklin Island north of Hudson Strait. 

Winter range. — The North Atlantic Ocean, occasionally reaching 
land. From the Great Banks, off Newfoundland, and Georges Bank, 
off Massachusetts, to New York (Long Island). In Europe from the 
British Isles and Norway south to Gibraltar. Occasional in the 
Mediterranean Sea and on inland waters. 

Spring migration. — Migration dates in North America are so few 
as to appear little more than straggling records. Labrador : Straits 
of Belle Isle, June 22. 

Fall migration. — Birds reach Georges Bank in July. Massachu- 
setts dates : Ipswich, September 17 ; Woods Hole, August 30 and Sep- 
tember 19 ; Pollock Eip, September 10 ; and Nantucket Shoals, Octo- 
ber IT. Eecorded from New York (Long Island) as early as 
August 10. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 7 

Casual records. — Accidental inland in New York (Niagara River, 
spring, 1886). 

Egg dates. — Iceland: Twenty-four records May 20 to June 23; 
twelve records June 3 to 15. Greenland : One record June 21. 

CATHARACTA CHILENSIS (Bonaparte). 
CHILEAN SKUA. 

HABITS. 

The preceding species, Catharacta skua, has been reported, as a 
straggler, on the coasts of California and Washington, where speci- 
mens have been taken, as recorded below. 

These records have alwaj 7 s seemed open to question as it seemed 
unlikely that a bird of the Atlantic Ocean would stray so far away 
from its normal habitat. 

There are at least two other species of skua, which are fairly com- 
mon in certain parts of the South Pacific and South Indian Oceans, 
which would be much more likely to wander to the coast of Cali- 
fornia. Thinking that these records might refer to Catharacta 
chilensis or Catharacta lonribergi, I opened correspondence regard- 
ing them with Mr. Harry S. Swarth, which resulted in his sending 
me one of the birds. After consultation with Mr. Robert Cushman 
Murphy, who is familiar with these species in life, and after compar- 
ing it with series of specimens of chilensis, lonnbergi, and antarctica 
in various museums in Cambridge, New York, and Washington, I 
have decided to provisionally refer these birds to the above species, 
Catharacta chilensis, of which they probably represent an immature 
plumage or a dark phase. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Unknown. 

Range. — Most abundant on the coasts of Chile and Peru, but found 
on both coasts of southern South America, from Rio Janeiro, on the 
Atlantic side, to Callao, Peru, on the Pacific side. Wanders north- 
ward, perhaps regularly, in the Pacific Ocean to Japan (Sagami 
Sea, August 23, 1903), California (Monterey Bay, August 7, 1907, 
and August 4 and September 21, 1910) , Washington (off Gray's Har- 
bor, June 28, 1917), and British Columbia (off Vancouver Island, 
June 20, 1917). 

STERCORARIUS POMARINUS (Temminck). 

FOMAEINE JAEGER. 

HABITS. 

To most of us this and the other jaegers are known only as sum- 
mer and fall visitors on our coasts or on the fishing banks, where 
they are constantly harassing the smaller gulls, the terns, and the 
shearwaters, from whom they obtain by force a large part of their 
food supply. The pomarine is the largest of the three, but by no 
174785—21 2 



8 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

means the most aggressive. Few of us have ever seen it on its breed- 
ing grounds, which lie within the Arctic Circle, where it is widely 
scattered over the boundless plains of the marshy tundra. 

Spring. — Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) says of its arrival in northern 
Alaska : 

The earliest arrival of this bird in spring was May 13 at the Yukon mouth 
where the writer found it searching for food along the ice-covered river chan- 
nels. They became more common, until, by the last of the month, from a dozen 
to 20 might be seen every day, 

Mr. Frank C. Hennessey, who accompanied the A. P. Low expedi- 
tion to the regions north of Hudson Bay, says, in his notes, that " the 
first of this variety was seen to arrive in the spring at Winter Har- 
bour on May 29th." 

Nesting. — Very little has been published on the nesting habits of 
the pomarine jaeger. Mr. Hennessey, in the notes referred to above, 
which he kindly sent me, states that these birds are " abundant about 
Winter Harbour, where they breed on the low, flat, marshy land in 
the neighborhood, choosing the small mounds or slight elevations that 
abound in these places upon which to rear their brood. The nest is 
a slight depression in the soil of the elevation and just deep enough 
to admit the eggs and breast of the bird. No material is used in its 
construction, but the bottom is covered with much loose soil and rub- 
bish apparently blown in accidentally." Mr. C. Boyce Hill (1900) 
published the following account of the nesting habits of this species 
in Siberia : 

On our way down the Yenisei the steamer which was towing us fortunately 
ran ashore on one of the numerous sand banks which abound in this river. I 
say fortunately because it enabled us to discover this skua nesting. After 
having inquired the probable duration of our stoppage, Popan and I agreed to 
explore the small islands near at hand — a group named the Brekotsky. We 
took one each, and on mine, a large, flat marsh, I observed a Pomatorhine skua, 
which was presently joined by another. The birds did not appear at all demon- 
strative nor to resent intrusion, like the long-tailed skuas, so I thought they 
could not be nesting. But after much searching and watching I observed one 
settle right in the center of the marsh, so at once proceeded to the spot. The 
bird rose when I was within a few yards of it, and to my delight I saw the 
nest with two eggs. I waited a few moments for the skua to come within shot 
and killed it; after pursuing its mate, I captured that also. The nest was a 
mere depression in the ground, on a spot rather drier than the surrounding 
marsh, and to reach it I was at times up to my knees in swamp ; so that had 
it not been for a foundation of ice at a depth of from 18 inches to 2 feet from 
the surface I do not think I should have been able to record this event. I 
also found nesting on this island some scaup ducks and red-necked phalaropes. 

Mr. Ludwig Kumlien (1879) found this species breeding on the 
Greenland coast under very different conditions. He writes : 

I have, however, nowhere found them so very common as on the southern 
shores of Disko Island; at Laxbught and Fortuna Bay there must have been 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 9 

many hundred pairs nesting. Their breeding place was an inaccessible cliff 
about half a mile from the seashore. The greater number of the birds nesting 
here were in the plumage described in Doctor Coues's monograph of the Laridae 
as the nearly adult plumage ; but there were also a good many birds that were 
unicolored blackish brown all over, but with the long vertically twisted tail 
feathers. That these were breeding I think there can be no doubt, as I saw 
them carrying food up to the ledges on the cliff, for the young I suppose. 

Eggs. — The Pomarine jaeger lays two or three eggs to a set, 
usually the former. They are said to be scarcely distinguishable 
from certain eggs of the parasitic jaeger or of the mew gull, but 
are more pointed. The shape is ovate or pointed ovate. The shell 
is smooth and slightly glossy. The ground color varies from " brown- 
ish olive " or " Brussels brown " to " olive lake " or " dark olive buff." 
They are rather sparingly spotted with "bone brown," "bister," 
"chestnut brown," or "snuff brown," and occasionally with under- 
lying spots or blotches of various shades of drab or gray. The meas- 
urements of 49 eggs, in various collections, average 62 by 44 milli- 
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 72.6 by 44.9, 
68 by 48, 57.2 by 43.6, and 58.5 by 40 millimeters. 

Plumages. — The young when first hatched is covered with long 
soft down, of plain colors and unspotted ; the upper parts are " clove 
brown " or " olive brown " and the under parts " drab " or " light 
drab." The plumage appears first on the scapulars, back, and wings, 
then on the breast, and the full ju venal plumage, which is not dis- 
tinctly separated from the first winter, is acquired before the young 
bird is fully grown. The first winter plumage is the well-known 
brownish mottled plumage, in which the body feathers and particu- 
larly the scapulars are heavily barred transversely with dark browns 
or dusky tints and tipped with rufous or pinkish buff; the central 
tail feathers are only slightly elongated beyond the other rectrices. 
This plumage is worn with slight changes all through the first year, 
or until the first postnuptial molt, which begins in June and lasts 
until October. The rufous or buff edgings gradually fade out to 
white during the winter; during the molt into the second-year 
plumage August birds show old barred feathers with white edgings 
and new barred feathers with rufous edgings. The second winter 
plumage is still mottled or barred, but is much lighter colored; 
the browns are grayer and there is more white, the rufous edgings 
soon disappearing. There is less barring on the under parts and 
the belly is often wholly white centrally; the under tail- coverts are 
heavily barred with white and dusky. There are sometimes signs of 
the golden collar in this plumage. If there is any molt in the 
spring, it is only partial, and probably the young bird does not 
breed in this plumage the second spring. 

At the second postnuptial molt the following summer, when the 
bird is about 2 years old, the third-year plumage is assumed. This 



10 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

plumage is practically the same as the adult in many individuals; 
the upper parts are uniformly dark, except that the white and golden 
collar encircles the neck; the two central tail feathers become much 
elongated ; the under parts are mainly white, with more or less dusky 
mottling on the neck, upper breast, and sides; and the lower abdo- 
men and under tail-coverts become dusky, but in some individuals 
these are veiled or mixed, more or less, with white. There is great 
individual variation in the amount and extent of the dusky mottling 
in the white areas, in the amount of white in the dark under tail- 
coverts, and in the extent of the white and golden collar at this age ; 
but as there is not much further progress to be made toward ma- 
turity, the third-year birds may be considered practically adult. The 
fully adult plumage, without much mottling in either the light or 
the dark areas and with the fully developed golden collar, increases 
in perfection with subsequent molts; the clear dark crissum and 
under tail-coverts are assumed when the bird is about 3 years old, 
though vigorous birds may acquire them before that time. I have 
never seen a specimen in which the neck, breast, and shoulders were 
entirely free from dusky mottling. 

Birds in the dark phase of plumage, apparently, undergo the same 
sequence of plumages to maturity, though I have not been able to 
trace the changes so satisfactorily. In the first-year plumage they 
are much darker than in the light phase, with the white barring much 
more restricted. During the second year they are almost wholly 
dark with some whitish and rufous edgings above and below. The 
third-year and adult plumages are hardly distinguishable, both being 
uniformly dark, but some specimens show an indication of the golden 
collar, more or less distinctly, which are probably the older birds. 
The molt of the contour feathers in both phases occurs in summer, 
from June to October, and the flight feathers are molted in October, 
beginning with the inner primaries and the central rect rices. The 
prenuptial molts of both young birds and adults are probably in- 
complete, but specimens of winter and early spring birds are too 
scarce to demonstrate it. 

Food.— The predatory feeding habits of the jaegers are familiar 
to everyone who has studied the habits of our sea birds during the 
latter part of summer and fall. They are the notorious pirates and 
freebooters among sea birds, the highwaymen that persecute their 
neighbors on the fishing grounds and make them "stand and de- 
liver." It is no uncommon sight on the New England coast to see 
one or two of these dusky robbers darting through a flock of hover- 
ing terns or small gulls, or giving chase to the lucky one that has 
caught a fish, following every twist and turn in its hurrying flight 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 11 

as it tries to dodge or escape, close at its heels as if attached by an 
invisible string. At last, in desperation, the harassed tern drops 
its fish and the relentless pursuer seizes it before it strikes the water. 
Occasionally the indignant tern voids its excrement instead, which 
the jaeger immediately seizes, as if it were a dainty morsel. 

Off Chatham, Massachusetts, we often saw this and the next spe- 
cies, which are called " jiddie-hawks " by the fishermen, mingling 
with the shearwaters and browbeating them as they do the gulls 
and terns. As soon as the shearwaters began to gather about our 
boat to pick up the pieces of cod liver that we threw overboard, 
the jaegers would appear and take a hand in the general scramble 
for food. They are quick to sense the idea that a gathering flock 
of sea birds means a feast to be obtained by force. The " haglets " 
are greedy feeders, and soon gulp down what pieces of food they 
can find, but they have learned by many a painful squabble that 
they are no match for the active, fighting "jiddie-hawks," and they 
are soon forced to disgorge or to surrender the field. 

Mr. Kumlien (1879) says that on the Greenland coast "they live 
to a great extent upon the labors of the kittiwake, though they do 
not hesitate to attack Larus leucopterus, and even glaucus. They are 
destructive to young birds and eggs. It is a common sight to see 
five or six after one gull, which is soon made to disgorge, and then 
the jaegers fight among themselves for the morsel, which often gets 
lost in the melee." In addition to the food stolen from other birds, 
the pomarine jaeger lives on what it can pick up in the way of offal, 
carrion, and scraps thrown from the galley. It devours young birds 
and eggs, and even small mammals, such as mice and lemmings. 

Mr. Albert W. Tuttle (1911) publishes the following account, con- 
tained in a letter from Mr. Allen Moses, of Grand Manan, New 
Brunswick : 

I saw a pomarine jaeger catch a phalarope. There was a pair of the jaegers. 
The female started after the phalaropes and chased them a long time. They 
were too smart for her, and after a long chase she separated out one, and then 
the male gave chase, and in a few minutes, with the two chasing the little fel- 
low, one caught him within a hundred yards of the vessel ; then they both lighted 
in the water and ate him. 

Behavior. — Were it not endowed with splendid powers of flight 
the pomarine jaeger could never perform the feats indicated above. 
It is not only swift and powerful, but it has wonderful command 
of its powers on the wing. It can be easily recognized by its superior 
size and by the peculiar shape of its elongated, central tail feathers, 
which are broad and blunt and are held with their vanes in a verti- 
cal plane, like a rudder. Its ordinary flight is steady and direct, 
with rather slow, constant wing beats. Mr. Walter H. Rich has 



12 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

contributed the following notes on one of its spectacular perform- 
ances : 

On several occasions I have seen the " gull chaser " turn a complete back 
somersault in the air to make a dive upon some piece of food on the water which 
the sweeping gale had caused it to overrun. Often, too, it thus makes its 
piratical raids upon some luckless hag, which, almost too late, it finds in 
possession of a morsel which it deems too dainty to be wasted on a mere 
squealing shearwater. And so it rises against the breeze, turns itself upside 
down and, with wings half closed, darts at its victim from above like a lance. 
But the hag stands to his guns; a squealing, choking remonstrance, a mighty 
gulp, and if the jaeger has luck he may capture a small fragment of the spoil. 

Mr. Rich says that the usual "call is a sharp 'which-yew,' also 
a squeaky whistle, and occasionally a squealing note like the ' week- 
week ' of the herring gull." Doctor Nelson (1887) says that it " has a 
low, harsh, chattering cry when feeding with its companions." 

Its behavior toward other species, which has been partially shown 
above, is not above criticism ; its motto seems to be that might makes 
right; it therefore uses some discretion in the choice of victims for 
persecution. The terns and the kittiwakes are the ones most regu- 
larly abused, the ring-billed and the herring gulls are less frequently 
persecuted, and it seldom ventures to attack the glaucous or the 
great black-backed gulls. Size and strength do not always bring 
courage, and the pomarine jaeger seems to be lacking in the latter 
quality. Doctor Nelson (1887) writes: 

They are clumsy and cowardly as compared with their smaller relatives. 
When one of this species chances to cross the path of the smaller species, the 
latter almost invariably gives chase and beats its clumsy antagonist off the 
field by repeatedly darting down from above. This attack embarrasses the 
large bird, so that it flinches and dives and often alights and watches an 
opportunity to escape from its nimble assailant. One that was driven to 
alight in the river thrust its head under water at every swoop of its assailant 
and exhibited the most ludicrous terror. When on the wing they usually ward 
off an attack from one side by a half-closed wing, and if above, both wings are 
raised, forming an arched shield above the back. 

Fall. — The fall migration of the jaegers is governed largely by 
the food supply, which depends on the movements of the fish on 
which the gulls, terns, and shearwaters feed. On the New England 
coast we usually look for the jaegers in August, especially where the 
bluefish or mackerel are running in schools and driving the small 
fry to the surface. During seasons when these fish are scarce the 
jaegers and shearwaters are absent, perhaps following other schools 
of fish far out at sea. And when the bluefish and mackerel move off 
the coast in the fall the jaegers disappear with them. They are 
seldom seen on our coasts in winter. We do not know very much 
about their winter range and habits, but they probably spend this 
season roaming at large over the open ocean wherever they can find 
a chance to ply their trade as pelagic pirates. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 13 
DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. 
In North America east to central Greenland (latitude 64° to 73° N.). 
South to Cumberland (Exeter Sound) and Hall Peninsula (Grinnell 
Bay), Melville Peninsula (Winter Harbor), and the Arctic coast of 
North America. West to northwestern Alaska (Kotzebue Sound to 
Point Barrow. North to Melville Island, Banks Island, North 
Somerset, and probably others of the Arctic islands. In Europe 
from Iceland to Spitzbergen, and Nova Zembla, perhaps occasionally 
on the coast of northern Norway; also in northeastern Siberia and 
probably the entire Siberian coast. Siberian birds have been de- 
scribed as a distinct subspecies, but it is doubtful if on good grounds. 

Winter range. — Poorly defined. Probably in Southern Hemisphere 
south to Peru (Callao Bay), northern Australia (Cape York), 
Burma, and South Africa (Walfisch Bay) ; also said to occur on 
inland waters of Europe south to the Mediterranean, and in small 
numbers from the coast of southern California to the Galapagos; 
occasional in winter in the Orkney Islands, off the south coast of 
England, and off Japan. It seems probable that these more northern 
records are not true wintering birds, but late migrants or stragglers. 

Spring migration. — Northward off both coasts of North America. 
Early dates of arrival: North Carolina, Cape Hatteras, April 18; 
Massachusetts, May 23; Maine, May 29; New Brunswick, Grand 
Manan, May 26 ; Melville Peninsula, Winter Harbor, May 29 ; Green- 
land, June 10; California, San Francisco Bay, May 5; Alaska, St. 
Michael, May 23, and Point Barrow, May 23 to June 6 ; northeastern 
Siberia, Liakoff Islands, June 20. 

Fall migration. — Southward by same routes. Early dates of 
arrival : Newfoundland, Bonne Bay, August 16 ; Nova Scotia, Sable 
Island, September 3; Ehode Island, September 13; New Jersey, 
October; Alaska, Kodiak Island, August 15; Washington, Puget 
Sound, September 7 ; California, Monterey Bay, August 2 ; Mexican 
coast, October 5; Peru, Callao Bay, November IT. Late dates of 
departure: Northeastern Greenland, latitude 75° 49' N., August 6; 
western Greenland, Disco Island, September 6 ; Nova Scotia, Halifax, 
October 4 ; Maine, late October ; Massachusetts, December 9 ; Rhode 
Island, October 11 ; New York, Long Island, October 30 ; New Jersey, 
December ; Alaska, Point Barrow, August 15 to September 20 ; Wash- 
ington, Puget Sound, October 22; California, Monterey Bay, Octo- 
ber 27. 

Casual records. — Spring records from Nebraska and Michigan and 
fall records from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri are 
probably casual stragglers, but they may indicate a limited migra- 
tion through the interior from Hudson Bay. 



14 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Egg dates. — Point Barrow, Alaska : Twenty- four records June 12 
to 27; twelve records June 17 to 20. Iceland: Three records May 21, 
June 1 and 28. 

STERCORARIUS PARASITICUS (Linnaeus). 

PARASITIC JAEGER. 
HABITS. 

Contributed by Charles Wendell Townsend. 

As one watches a flock of terns whirling like driven snow, now 
here, now there, and ever and anon plunging for fish, one may some- 
times see a dark, hawk-like bird suddenly appear on the scene and 
spread devastation in the ranks. With relentless energy he singles 
out and pursues some hapless individual until it drops its prey. This 
is a jaeger, a gull-like bird, with hawk-like characteristics. A more 
appropriate name for him would be robber rather than jaeger or 
hunter, for he obtains his food by robbing other birds. He has, 
however, all the grace and agility of the true hunting birds — the 
hawks — but his actions rarely end in bloodshed. After all robbery 
is a less serious crime than murder, but the term robber is oppro- 
brious, while that of hunter is not, so it is perhaps well that the name 
remains as it is. 

The parasitic jaeger is circumpolar in its distribution and breeds 
throughout the barren arctic grounds in North America, Greenland, 
Europe, and Asia. In Europe it nests as far soiath as the Shetlands. 
It winters from the southern part of its summer range along the 
coast even as far as Brazil, Australia, and the Cape of Good Hope, 
but in the interior of the continents it is only of casual occurence. 

Spring. — In the brief arctic spring, when the ice is breaking up and 
the snowdrifts are dwindling, the parasitic jaeger arrives on the 
breeding grounds on the tundra near the shores of the Arctic Ocean, 
or at a distance from the sea on the shores of ponds or lakes. It 
generally nests apart, not in communities. Of its courtship nothing 
is known. It is possible that the " wailing cries " described by Nelson 
and mentioned later may be in the nature of the love song. When 
surprised near the nest, Nelson (1887) says, "it creeps along the 
ground with flapping wings to decoy away the intruder." 

Nesting. — The nest is a mere depression in the soil. Macfarlane 
(1908) says it is "scantily lined with a few withered leaves and 
grasses." Grinnell (1900) in the region of Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, 
says " the nest was a slight saucer-shaped depression on a low mossy 
hummock on the tundra. This depression was scatteringly lined 
with bits of white lichen, such as grow immediately around the 
nest." Thayer and Bangs (1914) report that Koren found it in 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 3 





Kolyma Delta , Siberia. 



J. Koren. 




Point Barrow, Alaska. 



Parasitic Jaeger. 

For description see page 329. 



T. L. Richardson. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 15 

northern Siberia nesting " in dry spots in swamps." Eussell (1898) 
at the mouth of the Mackenzie, says that "the nest was simply a 
level bit of dry moss on the tundra a few yards from the water's 
edge. 5 ' 

Eggs.— Only two eggs are laid and one brood hatched. Nelson 
(1887) says the eggs are laid in northern Alaska by June 5. The 
egg is ovate in shape, of a dull olive varying to green, gray or brown 
ground color, with spots, blotches, and lines of a sepia, drab, dark 
chocolate, and umber-vinaceous color. These markings are some- 
times distributed with great uniformity over the whole egg or gath- 
ered as a wreath about the larger end. The measurements of 50 
eggs in various collections average 57 by 41 millimeters; the eggs 
showing the four extremes measure 61 by 41. 58 by 43, 51 by 40.5, 
and 56 by 38 millimeters. 

Plumages. — [Author's note: I have never seen a small specimen 
of the downy young of the parasitic jaeger, but a half -grown young 
in my collection, which is still more than half downy, has the down 
of the upper parts uniform " natal brown," paler on the head and 
neck, and shading off to " drab-gray " on the under parts. There is 
no indication of any mottling anywhere. The juvenal plumage is 
well advanced on the wings and scapulars, where it evidently appears 
first; the feathers are appearing through the down all over the 
breast and belly and on the upper part of the back ; the tail feathers 
are bursting their sheaths. 

The sequence of plumages to maturity is practically the same, in 
both phases, as in the pomarine jaeger, except that the parasitic 
jaeger normally acquires its fully adult plumage when a little over 
2 years old. The first-year plumage is heavily barred above and 
below with rufous edgings, which fade and wear away during the 
fall and winter. The second-year plumage is less heavily barred, 
with narrower and whitish edgings above, with much more white in 
the underparts, with heavily barred under tail-coverts, with some- 
what elongated central rectrices and sometimes with a suggestion of 
the golden color. At the second postnuptial molt, when the bird 
is from 25 to 27 months old, the fully adult plumage is assumed 
with no mottling or barring anywhere, with the dusky under tail- 
coverts and crissum and with the elongated central rectrices. 

During this molt the upper body plumage is completed first, and 
the last signs of immaturity to disappear are the barred feathers of 
the chest and flanks. The postnuptial molt of both adults and 
young is complete and occurs in August, September, and October, 
the wings being molted in October. There is probably an incom- 
plete prenuptial molt also, but material is lacking to show it satis- 
factorily. Fall adults in fresh plumage have the chin, throat, and 



16 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

neck clouded with light drab and the dark crown less pronounced 
than in spring. This disappears partially by wear, but I have seen 
one adult, taken in California on April 29, in which this plumage 
was being replaced by a partial molt. 

Adult parasitic jaegers can be distinguished in life at a long dis- 
tance by the downward extension of the drab mantle on the sides of 
the neck which seems to form a partial collar ; this is entirely absent 
in the long-tailed jaeger; the long central tail feathers are more 
pointed and are held differently in flight from those of the pomarine 
jaeger, as explained under that species; these feathers are, however, 
an unsafe guide by which to distinguish the parasitic and long-tailed 
jaegers, as there is much individual variation and overlapping. 
These last two species can hardly be distinguished in life in the im- 
mature plumages. For the best characters by which they can be 
distinguished in the hand I would refer the reader to Dr. Leonhard 
Stejneger's (1885) excellent remarks on the subject. 

In the dark phase, which may prove to be a distinct species, the 
sequence of molts and plumages is practically the same as outlined 
above, though the birds are much darker in all stages. During the 
first year the brown edgings are conspicuous, but during the second 
they are replaced by narrower and whiter edgings, the under tail- 
coverts being heavily barred in both cases. The adult plumage is 
wholly sooty, with sometimes a trace of the golden collar.] 

The proportions of the two phases vary considerably. At Ips- 
wich in the migrations, which extend over most of the summer, the 
birds in light phase outnumber the dark birds in the proportion of 
8 or 10 to 1. On the Labrador coast I found those in the dark phase 
more numerous in proportion than at Ipswich. Richardson (1825) 
says that on the banks of the Coppermine River in the beginning of 
July the greater part of them had dark abdomens. Grinnell (1900) 
in Alaska found a sooty bird mated with a light one and remarks 
that " one could scarcely believe them to be of the same species." He 
says that half of this species in June and July were in the dark 
plumage. Thayer and Bangs (1914) mention two pairs in northern 
Siberia, where all four birds were in the light phase, and one pair 
at Kodiak Island, Alaska, where the birds were in the dark phase. 
Nelson (1887) mentioned a similar dark couple. The difference be- 
tween the two phases seems as great as that between the greater and 
the sooty shearwaters. 

Food. — The feeding habits of the parasitic jaeger vary consider- 
ably with the locality. The host on which it preys is in some places, 
as on the New England coast, the common tern, although the arctic, 
roseate, and least terns, as well as the Bonaparte's gull, may in places 
be added. On the eastern Labrador coast I found the great flocks of 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 17 

kittiwakes to be the chief source of its supplies, as also is the case in 
Baffin's Land, for Kumlien (1879) says: 

This species seems to depend on Rissa tridactyla for the greater part of its 
food. 

Anderson (1913), under the heading "Parasitic jaeger," says: 

The jaegers are the terror of the smaller birds, spending their time cease- 
lessly hawking back and forth over the tundra looking for eggs and young 
birds. Large numbers of eggs of eiders and gulls are destroyed in the rookeries 
by the jaegers. Whenever the Arctic terns are nesting their neighbors are com- 
paratively safe, as the belligerent little terns speedily cause any marauding 
jaeger to beat a hasty retreat. I have also seen ruddy turnstones drive a 
jaeger away from the nests. I once observed a pair of jaegers chasing a flock 
of sandpipers. One sandpiper flew out of the flock, the jaegers in pursuit. 
They seemed to work together, one darting in while the other turned. The 
sandpiper finally escaped by flying upward until almost out of sight, and the 
jaegers finally gave up the chase. * * * Some other birds will also attack 
the jaegers, which are really cowardly birds when heartily opposed. I have on 
two or three occasions seen a rock ptarmigan fly fiercely at a jaeger which 
came too near his nesting place and put the jaeger to ignominious flight. 

Its calling makes it one of the most interesting sea birds to 
watch. The advent of a jaeger among a flock of terns occasions 
loud cries of anger among the latter as they scatter to the right 
and left, while the hunter, singling out one individual, chases it 
with great energy. No matter how skillfully and rapidly the vic- 
tim twists and turns, now up, now down, now to one side, now 
the other, sooner or later, with a few exceptions, it acknowledges de- 
feat by dropping the fish from its beak or by disgorging the con- 
tents of its gullet. These, the jaeger, with great skill and agility, 
catches in mid-air and swallows at once, or on other occasions car- 
ries hanging from the beak for a short distance before satisfying 
its appetite. Sometimes it alights on the water, the better to enjoy 
its meal. Nelson (1887) says: 

They are very greedy, and frequently swallow so much that they are unable 
to fly until a portion is disgorged. 

The victimized tern meanwhile vents its wrath at the robbery in 
no uncertain language and must again set to work for its living. 
But the jaegers are not always successful. Thus, on one occasion, 
I saw a parasitic jaeger pursue a common tern in a straight line for 
nearly a mile, eventually to give up the chase. Not infrequently 
two hunters combine on one victim. Thus I have notes of two 
jaegers at Ipswich, one in the dark, the other in the light phase, 
that relentlessly followed a common tern. The bird that secured 
the prize was at once pursued by his companion and accessory io. 
theft. On another occasion two jaegers at Ipswich were chasing 
a tern that twisted in sharp angles and small circles over the beach 



18 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Finally the tern dropped the fish, which one of the jaegers secured 
in mid-air. Later the two dashed into a flock of about a hundred 
terns and chased them right and left. The terns screamed and 
darted around in great confusion; some retaliated by chasing the 
jaegers. 

Although this bird well justifies its name parasitic , it occasionally 
does some foraging for itself; thus King (1836) says that it also 
"subsists on putrid fish and other animal substances thrown up by 
the sea." Turner (1886), at St. Michael, Alaska, says it eats "fishes 
that had been cast on the beach, shell fish, and other animal food. 
They also eat the berries of Empetrum nigrum." The latter is the 
crow berry or the curlew berry of the north, the berry on which the 
curlew formerly fatted in countless numbers. Turner also relates 
an instance where a parasitic jaeger picked up a freshly torn-off 
muskrat skin that was floating on the surface of the water. 

It seized the skin in its beak and then passed it to its claws, by which it car- 
ried it off a little distance and began to strip the adhering muscle and fat 
from it. 

Nelson (1887) reported that this species eats also shrews, mice, and 
lemmings. Eifrig (1905) found bones and feathers in the stomachs. 
Seton (1908) says that in the region of the lakes of the barren 
grounds " it lives much like a hawk or a raven, coming when a cari- 
bou is killed to share in the oflal. Once saw one capture a Lapland 
longspur on the wing, and have often seen it pursuing 'ground squir- 
rels." Preble (1908) gives the stomach contents of two taken near the 
Great Slave Lake; the first contained various insects and the bones 
of a small bird, evidently a young tern, and the other a dragon fly, 
various beetles, and a small fish. Anthony (1906) says: 

These deep-sea individuals had their stomachs filled to overflowing with fish 
spawn about the size of No. 5 shot, evidently of some species spawning on the 
surface where the bird could pick it up without trouble. I have seen this jaeger 
in Bering Straits diving for surf smelt, together with Pacific kittiwakes; but, 
like all of their group, they found it difficult to get below the surface, even with 
the help of a drop of 6 or 8 feet above the water, and seldom neglected an op- 
portunity to rob the Arctic tern or kittiwake. 

Behavior. — The flight, swimming, and diving of this species have 
all been mentioned in the feeding habits. While the first is rapid, 
graceful, and falcon-like, the two last are seldom indulged in, and not 
very efficient. It is, indeed, a bird of the air and outside of the 
breeding grounds is rarely seen on shore. On one occasion, however, 
at Ipswich, I saw a flock of 10 of these birds on the smooth, hard 
beach. 

In the chase of terns, it is the tern that uses its vocal powers, and 
the voice of the jaeger is rarely heard. Nelson (1887) says: 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 19 

On cloudy' days or in the dusky twilight, these birds have a habit of uttering 
loud wailing cries, interspersed with harsh shrieks, which are among the most 
peculiar notes heard in the northern breeding grounds. 

Mr. W. Elmer Ekblaw says of the habits of this jaeger in Green- 
land: 

The jaeger not only steals the food away from the other birds, but also preys 
upon their eggs and young. In 1914 I found in one day's tramp two eider nests 
and one nest of the ring-necked plover that had been despoiled by this ravager. 
The pierced egg shells were scattered about the nests, as if the jaeger had de- 
lighted in the destruction he had wrought. The knots and sandpipers of the land 
birds and the kittiwakes and terns of the sea birds cordially hate the jaeger. In 
protection of their nests and young these birds often valiantly attack and drive 
off the greedy jaeger, but usually he pursues them vindictively until they yield 
to him. He is the particular enemy of the kittiwakes, and whenever he dashes 
into a flock of them his vicious screams scatter them panic stricken. He then 
singles out one for his victim and pursues him relentlessly with buteonine 
tenacity of purpose. 

Disliked, as parasitic jaegers must be by their victims, they are 
well able to take care of themselves and have few destructive enemies. 
Even man, although eagerly taking the eggs for food on the breed- 
ing grounds, disdains to eat the robber bird. It may, like the 
strongest of sea birds, at times succumb to the tempest. King (1836) 
records that one in a storm " sought refuge from the raging elements 
under the lee of our tent." 

Fall. — The fall migration of the young of the year begins in 
Alaska, according to Nelson (1887), after the 20th of September and 
the birds keep out to sea on the New England coast. I have seen 
adults at Ipswich as early as July. Here they pursue their calling 
among the terns until these birds leave for the south, whither they 
follow them by September, and continue the same methods of mak- 
ing a living during the winter. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Arctic and subarctic regions of both hemispheres. 
In North America east to Greenland (Disco Bay and Baffins Bay and 
probably north to Thank God Harbor. South to northern Labrador 
(Killinek), and northern Hudson Bay (Southampton Island), cen- 
tral Keewatin (near York Factory), southern Mackenzie (Great 
Slave Lake), southwestern Alaska (Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak 
Island), and the Aleutian Islands. West to Bering Sea coast of 
Alaska. North to the Arctic coast of Alaska and Mackenzie, also 
Banks Land (Mercy Bay), Melville Island (Winter Harbor), and 
other Arctic Islands to about 80° north latitude. Has been recorded 
in summer in southeastern Alaska (Glacier Bay) and may occa- 



20 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

sionally breed. In the Old World breeds from Iceland, the Faroe 
Islands, northern British Isles (north coast Scotland, Orkney, and 
Shetland Islands, and many of the Hebrides), along the Arctic coast 
and islands of Europe and Asia to northeastern Siberia. South to the 
Commander Islands and probably the Kurile Islands. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservation 
in Alaska : Aleutian Islands (as Agattu, Amchitka, and Kiska). 

Winter range. — From Florida (Gulf coast) and southern Cali- 
fornia (Point Concepcion) southward along both coasts of South 
America to Argentina (Mar del Plata) and Chile (Valparaiso) and 
occasionally as far as the Straits of Magellan. In the Eastern Hemi- 
sphere along the western coast of Europe and Africa to the Cape of 
Good Hope; also southwestern Asia from the Persian Gulf to the 
Mekran and Sind coasts, and occasionally New Zealand and 
Australia. 

Spring migration. — Northward along both coasts. Early dates of 
arrival : Off Jacksonville, Florida, April 9 ; New Jersey, Stone Har- 
bor, May 27; Massachusetts, May 24 and 31; Greenland, Thank God 
Harbor, June 14 ; Washington, Tacoma, May 17 ; Alaska, St. Michael, 
May 7; Point Barrow, May 29; Banks Land, May 31; Mackenzie 
River, June 8. Late dates of departure : Straits of Magellan, March 
6; Chile, Valparaiso, March 28; Florida, Matanzas Inlet, May 18; 
Pennsylvania, Renova, June 18; Ontario, Toronto, June 20; south- 
ern Labrador, June 21. 

Fall migration. — Southward along both coasts and irregularly in 
the interior. Early dates of arrival : Nova Scotia, Sable Island, Sep- 
tember 9; New Hampshire, Seabrook, September 2; Massachusetts, 
August 30; Rhode Island, September 2; New York, Long Island, 
August 6; Brazil, October 26; Argentina, Mar del Plata, October 
9; southern Alaska, Cook Inlet, August 22; Washington, Puget 
Sound, September 2; Chile, Valparaiso, November 6. Late dates of 
departure: Ontario, October 20; Massachusetts, October 22; Rhode 
Island, November 27 ; South Carolina, Charleston, November ; Well- 
ington Channel, September 2; Alaska, Point Barrow, September 9, 
and St. Michael, September 16 ; Pribilof Islands, October 18 ; Wash- 
ington, Puget Sound, November 8; California, Monterey Bay, De- 
cember 12. 

Casual records. — Fall records from the interior are so numerous 
that they indicate a regular migration route in limited numbers. 

Egg dates.— Iceland: Sixteen records, May 21 to June 24; eight 
records, May 26 to June 14. Northern Canada: Twelve records, 
June 10 to July 8 ; six records, June 29 to July 8. Northern Alaska : 
Four records, June 19 and 20 and July 10 and 18. Shetland Islands : 
five records, May 15 to June 26 ; three records, May 30 to June 15. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 4 




St. Michael, Alaska. 



F. S. Hersey. 







St. Michael , Alaska. 



Long-Tailed Jaeger. 



For description see page 329 



F. S. Hersey. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 21 

STERCORARIUS LONGICAUDUS Vieillot. 
LONG-TAILED JAEGER. 

HABITS. 

On the rolling Arctic plains or tundra back of Nome, Alaska, we 
found these handsome birds very common and a conspicuous feature 
in the landscape, where they had probably reared their young and 
were spending the summer in congenial surroundings. Some of them 
were almost constantly in sight, and it was a pleasure to watch their 
graceful evolutions on the wing, as they coursed about the grassy 
borders of the little tundra ponds in search of food or perched on 
the little mossy hummocks to rest or to watch for passing birds that 
they might rob, or for some small mammal on which they might 
pounce. Certain of these little mounds seemed to be favorite lookout 
points for certain individuals or pairs, as there were signs of con- 
tinued occupancy, and we frequently saw the same mound occupied 
at various times; perhaps each pair of birds has a sort of feudal 
domain of its own, from which intruders are driven away. 

Spring. — The long-tailed jaeger retires to its Arctic summer home 
very early in the season and arrives on its breeding grounds in ad- 
vance of its congeners. Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) says that it arrives 
in the vicinity of St. Michael about May 12 or 15, but is not numer- 
ous until 10 days or more later. Mr. Lucien M. Turner (1886) 
writes : 

On their first arrival they are somewhat gregarious, though this may be due 
to the limited portions of ground free from snow. At this time the little pools 
of the low ground are being rapidly thawed out ; many cracks in the heaving 
sea ice expose the water to view. These places are then scanned for food. 
When the ice in the lakes and larger ponds is melted, these birds usually are 
hovering in the vicinity, or seated on some knoll watching a gull or tern dive 
for a fish. 

Nesting. — Doctor Nelson (1887) says of the nesting habits of this 
species near St. Michael: 

The mating occurs with a great amount of noisy demonstration on the part 
of several rivals, but once paired the birds keep by themselves, and early in 
June deposit their eggs in a depression on the mossy top of some knoll upon 
rising ground. In one instance, on June 16, while I was securing the eggs of a 
Macrorhamphus, a pair of these jaegers kept circling about, uttering harsh 
screams and darting down within a few feet. As I appreached the spot where 
the snipe's eggs lay I had noticed these birds on a knoll just beyond, but had 
paid no attention; but as the birds kept leaving me to hover over the knoll 
and then return to the attack, I examined the spot, and there, in a cup-shaped 
depression in the moss, lay two dark greenish eggs marked* with an abundance 
of spots. During the breeding season these birds and the preceding species 
have a cunning habit of tolling one away from their nest by dragging them- 
selves along the ground and feigning the greatest suffering. They roll about 
among the tussocks, beat their wings, stagger from side to side, and seem to 



22 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

be unable to fly, but they manage to increase the distance from their starting 
point at a very respectable rate, and ere long suddenly launch forth on the 
wing. 

Mr. Hersey found a nest of the long-tailed jaeger, with two eggs 
on the point of hatching, near St. Michael on June 19, 1915, The 
eggs were laid in a natural depression of irregular shape on the top 
of a dry mound slightly raised above the surrounding wet tundra; 
there were several higher mounds within a few yards. The female 
could be plainly seen sitting on her nest from a considerable dis- 
tance. She allowed him to approach within 20 yards before she 
flew, when both she and the male swooped about his head. Within 
50 feet of this nest a willow ptarmigan was sitting on her nest with 
six eggs. 

Mr. Johan Koren, according to Messrs. Thayer and Bangs (1914), 
found a remarkable nest of this species, in northeastern Siberia, on 
June 22, 1912. 

The eggs lay in a slight depression on the level, mossy ground in a dry, 
high, larch forest. Both parent birds were present, and both had acquired 
the habit of alighting and perching in the tree tops. 

This was a decided exception to the rule, however, as the nest is 
usually placed on some slight elevation on the flat or rolling open 
tundra, where a few pieces of dry grass, .bits of mosses or leaves 
are scraped together in a slight hollow. The birds are very courage- 
ous in the defense of the nest, swooping down at the intruder or 
flying straight at his face and turning or rising just in time to miss 
striking him. After the young are hatched, however, they become 
more cautious and seldom approach within gunshot, lest they betray 
the presence of the young, which are cleverly hidden in the grass. 

Eggs. — The long-tailed jaeger lays almost invariably two eggs, 
occasionally only one, and very rarely three. The eggs are almost 
indistinguishable from those of the parasitic jaeger, but they aver- 
age slightly smaller and are usually a little more blunt in shape. 
The shape varies from ovate to short ovate, usually nearer the latter. 
The shell is smooth and thin, but has very little luster. The ground 
color varies from " light brownish olive " or " Dresden brown," in 
the darkest eggs, to " tawny olive," " Isabella color," " light yellow- 
ish olive," or even ;c olive buff," in the lightest eggs. The eggs are 
irregularly spotted or blotched, chiefly about the larger end with 
" raw umber," " Prout's brown," or other lighter shades of brown. 
Often there are also numerous underlying spots and blotches 
of various shades of drab. The measurements of 48 eggs in the 
United States National Museum collection, average 55 by 39 milli- 
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 61.5 by 42.5, 
56 by 50, 47 by 38.5, and 49.5 by 36 millimeters. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 5 




Kolyma Delta, Siberia. 



J. Koren. 




Northeast Greenland. 



Long-Tailed Jaeger. 



For description see page 329, 



A. L. V. Manniche. 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF jSTORTH AMEBIC AN GULLS ASTD TERNS. 23 

The period of incubation is 23 days. Both sexes incubate. Mr. 
A. L. V. Manniche (1910) writes: 

As far as I could notice the sexes divided the breeding duties evenly between 
themselves. The posture of the bird while brooding is high, the neck and head 
erected. While the one bird broods, the other guards its mate and the hunt- 
ing territory. As soon as a bird of the same species or another larger bird 
appears upon the scene, the watching bird utters a long penetrating cry and 
attacks the unwelcome guest; having chased him off, the skua again takes 
its seat near the brooding mate. If you retire some 50 meters the bird will 
quickly settle upon the nest again. The clamorousness and fearlessness of the 
bird make it easy to discover nearly every nest, even on a most extensive ter- 
ritory. 

If the eggs be removed from the nest, the skua will nevertheless as a rule 
lie down upon the nest for some few minutes. In a certain case I saw a bird 
lying more than half an hour upon the empty nest. 

Young. — The chicks, which soon after the hatching leave the nest, seem 
during the first days to be principally fed with insects. In the gullet of a newly 
hatched bird I found a crane-fly (Tipula), but they are even when quite 
young able to eat lemmings, which the parents hunt, eat, and afterwards dis- 
gorge before them. The young ones grow very quickly. It is a well-known 
fact that the young of this skua appear before the first molt in two-color 
varieties — a pale and a dark. The pale variety seems to occur somewhat more 
frequently than the dark. 

Though this and the preceding species were both common in north- 
western Greenland, the members of the Crocker Land Expedition 
failed to find the nest of either. To illustrate the peculiar behavior 
of this species near its nest, I quote from Mr. Ekblaw's notes of 
July 16, 1914, as follows: 

Though I failed to find them I felt confident that I had been very near either 
the eggs or the young of Stercorarius longicaudus to-day. Among the rocks 
just above Moraine Lake a pair of these birds flew uneasily about me and 
alighted from time to time near me as I searched at length for the nest that 
I suspected was on the plateau. The male boldly perched within 40 feet of 
me, and though the female was shyer she did not leave me far either. An in- 
genious deceit that the female attempted is worthy of note. After flying 
nervously near and about me she flew to a large bowlder and settled down 
snugly beside it, to all appearance as if she were returning to her nest. I 
hastened to the place exultantly, only to find, when the bird flushed, that she 
had deceived me. After another nervous flight about me she repeated the 
performance, and again I was deceived, even though I waited until I thought 
she would tire of her strategy, if deceit it were. When she tried a third time 
to delude me I waited to let her tire, but her patience outwore mine and I 
finally flushed her. In an hour's search of the moraine afterwards I failed to 
find any nest. 

Plumages. — The only downy young that I have seen is plainly 
colored without any dark markings. It varies from " bister " or 
"buffy brown" above to "wood brown" below, being darkest on 
the back. Yarrell (1871) describes "a nestling in half-down" as 
"pale smoke-brown on the downy head and under parts with very 
dark brown feathers tipped with rufous on the back and wings." 
174785—21 3 



24 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Although the adults of the long-tailed jaeger are not known to 
have light and dark phases, there seem to be two quite distinct 
types of coloration in the ju venal plumages. In the dark phase the 
upper parts are dark " brownish black," or " clove brown " ; the 
head, neck, and chest are mainly dusky, the latter mottled with 
" wood brown " ; the feathers of the back and wing-coverts are 
edged with " cinnamon " or " wood brown," and the rump is spotted 
with the latter color: the lower parts are mainly buff, mottled and 
barred, chiefly on the sides and under tail-coverts, with dusky. In the 
light phase the upper parts are much the same as in the dark phase, 
but much lighter colored, and the pale " wood brown " edgings are 
broader and more prevalent ; the head and neck are mainly " pinkish 
buff " and the crown is but little darker ; the head is uniformly cov- 
ered with linear streaks of pale dusky; the under parts are largely 
whitish, tinged with pale "pinkish buff," nearly immaculate on 
the breast and belly, but heavily barred on the sides and under tail- 
coverts with dusky. These descriptions are taken from young birds, 
collected early in August, in full, fresh, ju venal plumage. Other 
specimens taken late in September show similar well-marked color 
phases, but birds a year older do not seem to show them. This plum- 
age is worn, with slight modifications, during the first year; the 
brown edgings fade out to white and gradually wear away; prob- 
ably a partial molt occurs during the winter and spring. At the 
first postnuptial molt, the following summer, a complete change 
produces the second-year plumage. In this plumage the upper parts 
are much as in the adult, except that there is only a trace of the 
yellow on the sides of the head, often none at all; the two central 
tail feathers now project decidedly beyond their fellows, which was 
hardly noticeable in the previous plumage; but the under parts are 
more or less barred with dusky, particularly on the flanks and chest, 
and heavily so on the under tail-coverts. This plumage is worn for 
about a year or so until the second postnuptial molt, which is com- 
plete, beginning in June and lasting through September. At this 
molt the long central tail feathers and the dusky under tail-coverts 
are assumed ; the young birds then assume the adult plumage when a 
little over 2 years old. 

Adults have a partial prenuptial molt in the early spring and a 
complete postnuptial molt in August, September, and October. 
The seasonal changes in adults are not conspicuous, though freshly 
molted birds in the fall have the chin, throat, and neck clouded 
with light drab and the dark crown less pronounced than in the 
spring. The characters by which this and the foregoing species can 
be recognized are somewhat involved and confusing; so, rather than 
discuss them here, I would refer the student to Dr. L. Stejneger's 
(1885) excellent remarks on the subject. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 25 

Food. — In their summer homes on the tundra these jaegers live on 
a varied bill of fare. They are said to feed largely on lemmings, 
field mice (Microtus) , and other small mammals. They catch flies, 
butterflies, and other insects and eat their larvae. In the summer 
they rob bird's nests to devour the eggs and young, and sometimes 
they pursue and kill wounded birds for food. Probably a few fish 
are caught and many are stolen from gulls and terns. They also 
pick up considerable offal of various kinds, as well as small crus- 
taceans and worms. During the latter part of the season they feed 
largely on crow-berries (Empetrum nigrum) and other berries. 
While migrating or during the winter they associate with the smaller 
gulls and terns, depending largely for food on what they can steal 
from these industrious birds or what they can pick up, in com- 
pany with these common scavengers, in the way of garbage. 

Behavior. — To watch the long-tailed jaeger in flight is one of the 
delights of the Arctic summer, for it is one of the swiftest and most 
graceful of birds on the wing ; its light and slender form is propelled 
by its long, pointed wings with the speed of an arrow, its broad 
tail serving as an effective rudder, as it twists and turns in pursuit 
of its fellows or some luckless gull or tern, with its long central tail 
feathers streaming in the wind. Doctor Nelson (1887) says: 

They appear to be much more playful than the other jaegers, and parties of 
six or eight may be seen pursuing one another back and forth over the marsh. 
The long, slender tail feathers and extreme grace on the wing of these birds 
render them very much like the swallow-tailed kite. 

Mr. Turner (1886) observes that it is " extremely swift on the wing, 
and when pursuing another bird thrashes the air with wing and 
tail, giving an undulatory motion to the body." It swims lightly and 
gracefully on the water, holding its long tail pointed upward; but I 
Lave never known it to dive below the surface. 

Doctor Nelson (1887) describes the notes as follows: 

They have a shrill pheQ-pheu-pheu-pheo. uttered while they are flying, and 
when the birds are quarreling or pursuing one another the ordinary note is 
often followed by a harsh qua. At other times they have a rattling kr-r-r-r, 
kr-r-r-r, kr-r-r-r, kri, kri-krl-kri, the latter syllables shrill and querulous and 
sometimes followed by the long drawn pheu-pheu-pheu in the same tone. 

All writers refer to the predaceous habits of the j aegers. Their be- 
havior toward other species is certainly not above criticism. On 
their breeding grounds they have the reputation of being nest robbers, 
according to the reports of the natives, eating the eggs and small 
young of any of the birds which are smaller or weaker than them- 
selves. Such pilfering is done on the sly, however, for the jaeger 
is far from courageous and is often attacked and driven away from 
the nests of gulls, terns, curlew, sandpipers, and other shore birds. 



26 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Doctor Nelson (1887) "saw a jaeger swoop down at a duck paddling 
quietly on the surface of a pond, and the latter went flapping away 
in mortal terror, while the jaeger passed on, probably highly pleased 
at giving the duck such a fright." Mr. Turner (1886) says: 

Should one of their kind be shot and slightly wounded the others will gather 
around it, and if not frightened away will soon dispatch their comrade. 

Mr. Hersey's notes on the long-tailed jaeger at St. Michael state: 

I have found this jaeger to be more peaceable and less given to chasing the 
gulls than the parasitic. I have seen as many as five or six of this species and 
a dozen or more short-billed gulls feeding in company on the refuse from the 
hotel, which had been put on a scow to be carried out into the bay and dumped ; 
each bird paid no heed to his companions and there was no quarreling. Tne 
small shore birds and longspurs seem to regard him as an enemy, however, 
and follow him about over the tundra whenever one appears. Both this and 
the parasitic jaeger show caution when among a flock of glaucous gulls, and 
I have never seen them attempt to molest one of these large birds. At times 
they bother the little Sabine's gulls. 

Mr. Frank C. Hennessey, who has sent me his notes on the birds 
of Winter Harbor, says, on the other hand, that " they tyrannize 
all others of their tribe, including the snowy owl, and make known 
their presence by successions of sharp but not discordant cries. These 
birds, considering their size, are quite able to fight for and defend 
themselves, particularly when any intruder may happen to encroach 
on the locality in which their nest is situated; in such a case they 
have been known to even attack the Arctic fox." 

Mr. A. L. V. Manniche (1910) writes: 

Not rarely I observed falcons pursued by skuas (Lestris longicauda). At 
the end of August the young skuas will frequently be sitting around on stones, 
still cared for by their parents, which with extreme violence will guard their 
offspring against attack from falcons. The skuas exceed by far the gyrfalcons 
in ability of flight, and the falcons therefore always wish to escape the pursuit 
and retire to the rocks. Most frequently three or four skuas would join in an 
attack. The battle would usually be fought out immensely high up in the air. 

Mr. Walter H. Rich has contributed the following notes on the 
behavior of jaegers on the fishing banks among the shearwaters: 

Both yagers and skuas bully the " hags," dropping on their backs as often as 
these latter are found enjoying a dainty bit. The yagers fight and quarrel 
much among themselves also. On several occasions the writer saw them clinch 
in the air to fall 20 or 30 feet, striking and clawing all the while. Only rarely 
do they annoy the skuas, and then somewhat carefully, usually in breezy 1 
weather, when they may the more easily escape consequences through their 
superior abilities in maneuvering; less often still do they trouble the large 
gulls, as the " black backs." Of the latter species I saw one in the brown 
plumage, when weaving his dignified flight through a cloud of " kitti wakes," 
turn suddenly to shoot upward and seize a long-tailed yager by the flank^ 
bringing away a mouthful of feathers with a wicked side wrench of his head, 
causing the victim to squeal in angry indignation and put on full power ahead. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 27 

It seemed to be sheer malevolence on the gull's part, for the yager was merely 
balancing before and above him in the gale, unmindful of his enemy's presence 
until the blow fell. Yet it may have been the payment of some ancient grudge. 

The behavior of this and the foregoing species among the gulls 
and terns along on coasts is well known and has already been well 
described under the previous species. But the following passage 
from Audubon (1840) seems worth quoting: 

It generally passes through the air at a height of 50 or 60 yards, flying in 
an easy manner, ranging over the broad bays, on which gulls of various kinds 
are engaged in procuring their food. No sooner has it observed that one of 
them has secured a fish than it immediately flies toward it and gives chase. 
It is almost impossible for the gull to escape, for the warrior, with repeated 
jerkings of his firm pinions, sweeps toward it with the rapidity of a peregrine 
falcon pouncing on a duck. Each cut and turn of the gull only irritates him 
the more and whets his keen appetite until, by two or three sudden dashes, 
he forces it to disgorge the food it had so lately swallowed. This done, the 
poor gull may go in search of more; the lestris is now for a while contented 
and alights on the water to feed at leisure. But soon, perceiving a distant 
flock of guils, he rises on wing and speeds toward them. Renewing his attacks, 
he now obtains an abundant supply and at length, when quite gorged, searches 
for a place on which to alight unseen by any other of his tribe more powerful 
than himself. 

Fall. — During the months of August and September the jaegers. 
old and young, leave their northern breeding grounds and start on 
their southward migration, and the first arrivals often appear on 
the coasts of New England and California during the former month, 
showing that some individuals must start very early or must mi- 
grate very rapidly. Doctor Nelson (1887) says that "the long-tailed 
species is less frequently found at sea than the last, and is rarely 
found about the ice pack north of Bering Straits." Numerous rec- 
ords from the interior of the United States and Canada would seem 
to indicate that the main migration route is overland rather than 
coastwise. 

Winter. — Prof. Wells W. Cooke (1915) makes the remarkable 
statement that " it seems probable that the long-tailed jaeger does 
not regularly winter anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. The 
winter home is in the Eastern Hemisphere, south to Gibraltar on 
the Atlantic side and to Japan on the Pacific." He evidently regards 
all the numerous fall records on both coasts and in the interior as 
accidental occurrences and either overlooks or disregards Audubon's 
(1840) statement that this species " often ranges " to the coasts of 
Florida and the Gulf of Mexico in winter; as well as Wayne's (1910) 
more recent records for South Carolina in December and Florida in 
February, where it was " observed in numbers." 



28 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

DISTRIBUTION, 

Breeding range. — Arctic coasts of both hemispheres. In North 
America from northwestern Alaska (Yukon Delta) along the coast 
at least as far east as Franklin Bay; on Ellesmere Land, Grinnell 
Land, and northern Greenland (on the west coast from Disco Bay 
north to 82° and on the east coast from Scoresby Sound north to 80°) ; 
probably on other islands in the Arctic Archipelago. South to north- 
ern Labrador (Cape Chidley), Southampton Island, and the west 
coast of Hudson Bay (probably as far south as York Factory). In 
the Eastern Hemisphere Iceland, Spitzbergen, Nova Zembla, the 
coast of northern Scandinavia, the Kola Peninsula, the Lower Pet- 
chora River, and the Arctic coast of Siberia south at least to the Gulf 
of Anadyr and St, Lawrence Island. 

Winter range. — American winter records are very scarce. Has 
been seen at Caper's Island, South Carolina, on December 21, and off 
the St. Johns River, Florida, in February; has been taken once in 
California (Hyperion), January 26; taken and reported common in 
Argentina (Mar del Plata) in October; and taken in Chile (Val- 
paraiso) in March and November. In the Eastern Hemisphere it 
winters south to Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, and on the Asiatic 
side to the northern Kurile Islands. 

Spring migration. — Early dates of. arrival: Florida, east coast, 
April 8 ; New Jersey, 80 miles off Barnegat, May 6 ; Ellesmere Land, 
Cape Sabine, May 23; northeastern Greenland, latitude 80°, May 28 
to June 6. Dates of arrival in Alaska : St. Michael, May 12 to 15 ; 
Nulato, May 15; Kowak River, May 22; Point Barrow, May 30; 
Demarcation Point, May 24. Taken at Vancouver Island, May 11. 

Foil migration. — Southward along both coasts and through the in- 
terior. Early dates of arrival : Massachusetts, Woods Hole, August 
12 ; Connecticut, Wallingf ord, August 30 ; Alaska, Forrester Island, 
August 24; British Columbia, Chilliwack, August 23; California, 
Monterey Bay, August 2, Late dates of departure : Ellesmere Land. 
Fort Conger, August 30 ; Massachusetts, Monomoy Island, September 
29, and Woods Hole, October 13 ; Alaska, Point Barrow, August 21, 
and St. Michael, September 12 ; British Columbia, Okanagan Land- 
ing, September 18 ; California, September 19. Interior dates : South- 
ampton Island, August 17; Manitoba, Lake Winnipeg, September 
and October 8 ; Missouri, Lake Como, October ; Indiana, August 20, 
September 11 and 12, and November 30; Illinois, Cairo, November. 

Egg date*.— Northern Alaska: Ten records, June 6 to July 12; 
five records, June 8 to 19. Northern Canada : Sixteen records, June 
16 to July 12 ; eight records, June 27 to 30. Lapland : Nine records, 
June 2 to 20 ; four records, June 14 to 18. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS, 29 

Family LARIDAE, Gulls and Terns. 

PAGOPHILA ALBA (Gunnerus). 
IVOSY GULL. 

HABITS. 

This beautiful, snow-white gull of the Arctic regions is decidedly 
boreal in summer and seldom wanders far south even in winter. It 
is circumpolar in its distribution and has been noted by nearly all 
Arctic explorers in both hemispheres. The names " ice-partridge " 
and " snow-bird," which are applied to this species, are both very 
appropriate, for the bird lives almost constantly in the vicinity of 
ice and snow, where its spotless plumage matches its surroundings. 
It is largely a bird of the open polar seas, frequenting the edges of 
the ice floes in company with the fulmars and other Arctic sea birds, 
and seldom resorting to the land except during the breeding season. 

Nesting. — Prof. Robert Collett (1888) has given us a very good 
account of the nesting habits of the ivory gull, based on information 
furnished by Capt. Johannesen, who visited a breeding colony on the 
small island of Storoen, near Spitzbergen, in 1887. I quote from his 
excellent paper, as follows : 

On the 8th of August, when he visited the island, he found young birds in all 
stages, from newly hatched to fully fledged, together with a small number of 
eggs, which, however, were on the point of hatching, and in all probability not 
one would have been left a week later. Storoen is about 9 English miles in 
length and 6 in breadth ; the greater part of its surface is covered by a glacier, 
which rises to a height of about 400 feet; the remaining portions consist of 
sand and gravel, with here and there small stones, likewise oases covered with 
moss ; while in a few places the ground consisted only of rock. 

L. eburneus was breeding on the northeast side of the island, close to, or 
only a short way above, high-water mark, on low-lying ground like L. canus, 
L. fuscus, etc., and not in the cliffs. Capt. Johannesen estimated the number 
of nests at from 100 to 150; they were somewhat apart, at distances varying 
from 2 to 4 yards. There were one or two eggs or young, but never more in a 
nest. On being examined at Tromso it was found that all the 19 eggs contained 
almost fully developed young chicks. Many of the nests contained young of 
various ages, whilst others were already empty. Several black-spotted young, 
capable of flight, were seen, likewise several young birds of the previous year's 
brood remained on the breeding ground. The nest is composed chiefly of green 
moss, which forms about nine-tenths of its mass. The rest consists of small 
splinters of driftwood, a few feathers, single stalks, and leaves of algae, with 
one or two particles of lichen. No trace of straw is to be found ; a couple of 
pebbles may possibly have appertained to the underlayer of the nest. The 
mosses occur in pieces the size of a walnut, or less, and have evidently been 
plucked in a fresh state from a dry subsoil, either on rocks or gravelly places. 
The mosses are all .sterile. Several of the splinters of driftwood were found of 
a length of about 100 millim. Under the microscope they all proved to be of 
conifers, probably larch, drifted from the Siberian rivers. Some were very old ; 



30 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

others, however, being still hard and possessing a fresh appearance. The 
feathers, of which only a few were found, are snowy white and have probably 
fallen from the brooding bird. Some portions of the algae were dry, crumpled 
leaves and stalks of seaweed. Only a few bits of a lichen were found, which 
appear to have got in accidentally. 

A most interesting account of the home life of this species in 
Franz Josef Land is published by Mr. W. Eagle Clarke (1898), in 
which he quotes from the journal of Mr. William S. Bruce, of the 
Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition, as follows: 

August 7. To-day we landed at Cape Mary Harmsworth, and the first thing 
we noted was an immense number of ivory gulls, and from their demonstrations 
and shriekings it soon became evident that they were nesting. As we traveled 
across the low-lying spit we found this was so. Here there are 5 or 6 square 
miles or more of fairly level ground, more or less terraced, being evidently a 
series of raised beaches. This, if not the largest, is one of the largest areas of 
bare ground in Franz Josef Land. Beyond a few lichens and occasional patches 
of moss there is very little vegetation, only two flowering plants being found — a 
saxifrage and a grass, and these very sparingly, indeed. There is very little 
actual soil, and the surface is rough and rugged with large stones. Scattered 
all over it are numerous fresh-water ponds, the largest of them perhaps 200 
yards across. The first signs of the ivory gulls' nests were patches of old moss 
every here and there, which at first we could not make out. As we advanced we 
saw more of these patches, and these seemed more compact. On approaching 
closer to these the birds made still more vehement demonstrations, swooping 
down upon us and giving vent to their feelings by uttering a perfectly deafening 
shriek close to our heads. 

Once in the midst of their nests — for these patches of moss were their 
nests — we had many hundreds of birds around us, first one swooping down to 
within a foot of our heads, and immediately after another. In some cases they 
actually touched us, and in one instance knocked the hat off a man's head. 
Most of the nests were empty, owing to the late date ; but here and there was a 
single egg, and in two nests I found two eggs. Going on through this gullery 
we found that near certain nests, which were apparently empty, the birds made 
even more violent demonstrations than before, and in looking carefully about 
we descried a young ivory gull in its greyish-white downy plumage, and hardly 
visible against the stones, which were of a very similar color. Even the older 
ones, which were more whitish, were difficult to see among the stones. These 
young birds would sit crouched in between two or three large stones, and one 
might at first sight take them for stones also. On picking up a young bird the 
parents became quite distracted and threatened us more vehemently than ever. 
By-and-by we passed out of this gullery, but further along we could see others, 
each with many hundreds of these birds, and we advanced toward them. The 
gullery we left gradually became qniet; but the birds in the one which we 
were approaching were beginning to demonstrate in the same way as those at 
the last. The cries became louder and louder, and in a few minutes we were 
again in the midst of the deafening shrieks of a host of terrified yet defiant 
birds. Again they swooped down upon us, and it seemed quite likely that at 
any moment they might dash into our faces. So we passed on from gullery to 
gullery among many thousand of these birds. It was a magnificent sight; the 
sun was shining brightly in a blue sky, the air was clear, and these handsome 
birds in their pure white plumage added brilliancy to the scene. Each nest 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 6 




Northeast Greenland. 



A. L. V. Manniche. 




Northeast Greenland. 



Ivory Gull. 

FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 329. 



A. L. V. Manniche. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 31 

is, as I have said, composed of a pile of moss, in shape a truncated cone, and 
may be from 6 to 9 inches in height and from 18 inches to 2 feet in diameter. 
There is no hollow on the top of this more or less level pile, upon which the egg 
is deposited or the young bird sits. I noticed many dead young birds, some quite 
recently deceased, for they were still warm, while others had been dead for 
some time. In nearly every case their crania had been indented. 

Doctor Malmgren, of the Swedish expedition to Spitzbergen in 
1861, found a colony of ivory gulls breeding in entirely different situ- 
ations. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway (1884) quote from his notes, as 
follows : 

On the 7th of July, 1861, I found on the north shore of Murchison Bay, latitude 
80° N., a number of ivory gulls established on the side of a steep limestone 
precipice some hundred feet high in company with the Rissa tridactyla and 
Larus glaucus. The last named occupied the higher zones of the precipice. 
The Larus eburneus, on the other hand, occupied the niches and clefts lower 
down, at a height of from 50 to 100 feet. I could plainly see that the hen birds 
were sitting on their nests, but these were inaccessible. Circumstances did not 
permit before the 30th of July my making the attempt, with the help of a 
long rope and some necessary assistance, to get at the eggs. With the assistance 
jf three men I succeeded in reaching two of the lowest in situation, and each 
contained one egg. The nest was artless and without connection and con- 
sisted of a shallow depression 8 or 9 inches broad in a loose clay or mold on 
a sublayer of limestone. Inside the nest was carefully lined with dry plants, 
moss, grasses, and the like, and a few feathers. The eggs were much in- 
cubated and already contained down-clad young. Both of the hen birds were 
shot upon their nests and are now in the National Museum. The male birds 
were at first observable, but disappeared when we began the work of reaching 
their nests. 

Eggs. — The ivory gull lays a set of one or two eggs. Two of 
the eggs taken by Captain Johannesen are in our National Museum, 
and Major Bendire (1888) has described them as follows: 

Their ground color is bufnsh olive ; in one egg, somewhat paler, perhaps more 
of an olive-drab tint. The surface markings, more or less irregularly dis- 
tributed over the entire egg, vary from clove-brown to bistre. The underlying 
or shell markings vary from slate to lilac-gray in tint and predominate in the 
larger specimen. In the smaller and darker one, both styles of markings are 
about equally distributed. The two kinds of spots vary considerably in size 
and shape. 

Professor Collett (1888) describes nine of the eggs, as follows: 

The ground color of five specimens is almost entirely alike — viz, a light 
grayish-brown tint, with faint admixture of yellowish green, such as often 
appears on the eggs of L. canus; which, however, have often a deeper brown 
or green hue. In structure and gloss all nine eggs greatly resemble those of 
L. canus; but the granulations under the microscope are a little coarser, more 
uneven, and in larger numbers; on the other hand, the granulations are per- 
ceptibly finer than in L. fuscus. The eggs are easily distinguished from those 
of Rissa tridactyla by their greater gloss, and the small excrescences do not 
lie quite so crowded, and are a little more flattened than they usually are in 
the last-mentioned species. 



32 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

The measurements of 32 eggs in various collections average 60.5 
by 43.6 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 
69.3 by 41.5, 62.6 by 44.6, 57 by 43. and 60.5 by 40 millimeters. 

Plumages. — Prof. Collett (1888) describes the downy young 
as " white all over ; the down white to the root " ; and says that 
"even in this first stage the young in down may be distinguished 
from the young of other species by the strong and hooked claws, 
especially on the hind toe, the somewhat marginated web on the 
toes, and the forward nostrils. The downy covering is particularly 
close; L. ebumeus in this respect is more closely related to the other 
species of Lams than to Rissa, the hairlike tips being shorter." 
A downy young bird in Doctor Bishop's collection, collected on King 
Charles Island on August 3, 1901, is covered with long, soft down, 
evenly colored above and below, " pallid mouse gray " shading into 
" pearl gray " at the base of the down. This is an older bird, how- 
ever, as the first feathers are appearing on the scapulars. 

Mr. Howard Saunders, in his edition of Yarrell (1871) says: 

The nearly fledged young are described by Richardson 1 as having ash-gray 
backs; but with regard to the subsequent stages of plumage there is an 
absence of satisfactory details, and the editor can only place the following 
facts before his readers : In the autumn of 1880 Mr. Leigh Smith brought back 
from Franz-Josef Land a bird which was supposed to be the survivor of 
several young taken from the nest, and which was presented to the zoological 
gardens. Its prevailing tone was gray, owing, perhaps, to the saturation of 
the plumage with grease and dirt acquired on board the steam yacht, where 
the bird is said to have frequented the stokehole; but after constant washing 
since its arrival at the gardens the bird still remained of a smoke gray, 
nearly as dark as a fulmar petrel on the upper parts, and especially so on the 
tail coverts, the feathers of the back and wing coverts having slightly darker 
shafts, and the head bearing not merely a mask but a short hood of a darker 
gray than the neck and the underparts. The tail was reduced by abrasion 
to a mere stump. Such was the description given by the editor when the birc 
was supposed to be from three to four months old, 2 and its correctness can be 
corroborated by other observers. It was naturally expected that at the next 
moult the bird would pass into the well-known spotted plumage, but no spots 
made their appearance, and this example at once assumed the pure white 
plumage which it now (April, 1884) displays. This omission of the spotted 
stage may, perhaps, be owing to captivity in a comparatively warm climate; 
the editor is unable to account for it. 

The ordinary immature or first-winter plumage is white, heavily 
mottled with dusky or dark grayish spots on the sides of the head 
and throat, concentrating into almost solid color in the loral region ; 
scattering spots of the same slate-gray are on the hind neck and 
upper back. The scapulars have subterminal dusky spots, as do 
also many of the lesser and nearly all of the greater wing coverts and 
tertials. The primaries, secondaries, and rectrices are broadly 

1 Journal of a boat-voyage, p. 281. 2 Zoologist, 1880, p. 484. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 33 

tipped with dusky, narrowly edged with white, As to how long this 
plumage is worn or at what age the adult, pure white plumage is 
acquired, I am in doubt. Selby (1833) says: 

As the bird advances in age the brown spots and bars gradually decrease at 
each molt, and it is supposed to be perfectly matured in two years and a half. 

I very much doubt if it requires any such time as two years to 
reach maturity, and I have never seen a bird with any spots on it at 
all, except a few on the edge of the wing, which I thought was over 
a year old. Probably the dusky tips wear away somewhat during 
the winter or are partially replaced by white feathers at an incom- 
plete prenuptial molt, and at the first postnuptial molt the pure 
white adult plumage is assumed ; but, unfortunately, I have not been 
able to study sufficient material to determine this with certainty or 
to understand fully the seasonal molts of adults. Adults ap- 
parently have but one complete annual molt in July and August. 
I have seen an adult which had not begun to molt its much-worn 
plumage on July 3, and another, in fresh plumage, which had com- 
pleted the molt on August 30. These are in the Dwight collection, 
which also contains two specimens, taken July 6 and 13, molting 
both wings and tails, and another, taken on May 30, in which the 
wings are molting, beginning with the inner primaries. 

Food. — The feeding habits of the ivory gull are hardly becoming 
a bird of such pure and spotless plumage. It is a greedy and vora- 
cious feeder and is none too particular about the quality of its food 
or how it obtains it. When some of these birds have been feeding 
on the carcass of a whale they present a sorry spectacle, for in their 
eagerness to satisfy their gluttonous appetite they crowd them- 
selves into the entrails of the animal and their beautiful white 
plumage becomes smeared with blood. They are particularly fond 
of the blubber and flesh of whales, walruses, and seals, even when 
somewhat putrid, and, when busily engaged in such a feast they 
are tame and unsuspicious. Nothing in the way of animal food 
comes amiss to them and they even frequent the holes in the ice used 
by seals for the purpose of feeding on the excrement of these ani- 
mals. Pieces of meat, blood, or offal from slain animals scattered on 
the ice or snow will always attract them. Any refuse thrown from 
the galley of a ship is readily picked up. Mr. Kumlien (1879) says 
that he once saw one try to swallow the wing of an eider, which the 
cook threw overboard. They also feed to a large extent on lem- 
mings and other small rodents. On their breeding grounds, in the 
Polynia Islands, Captain McClintock (1856) found the bleached 
bones of lemmings scattered about their nests, " also fresh pellets, 
consisting of their bones and hair," 



34 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Behavior. — The flight of the ivory gull is said to be light and 
graceful. Yarrell (1871) says "that its note is shrill and not un- 
like that of the Arctic tern, and its flight is more like that of a tern 
than of an ordinary gull." Nuttall (1834) writes: "Its only note 
consists of a loud and disagreeable scream." Selby (1833) says: 
"Its voice is strong and harsh." Mr. A. L. V. Manniche (1910) 
says : " This pretty bird, with its short but sonorous note, would 
make a wonderfully animating impression in these silent and deso- 
late surroundings." 

Winter. — The migration amounts merely to a withdrawal from its 
breeding grounds and such northern portions of its summer range 
as are rendered uninhabitable by the closing in of ice and snow. The 
species is merely forced southward by the advance of winter condi- 
tions and frequents the more or less open edge of the ice pack all 
winter. Mr. Clarke (1898) makes this statement: 

Dr. Neale records that in the antuixm of 1881 the ivory gulls departed from 
Cape Flora (Franz Josef Land) at the end of October, and arrived there the 
following spring on the 20th of April. Dr. Nansen observed them for the first 
time in 1896 as early as the 12th of March, at his winter quarters on Frederick 
Jackson Island. 

On the Labrador coast it seems to occur in the late fall only. Mr. 
Kumlien (1879) noted it as " very Common " in Cumberland Sound 
" just before it froze up, for a few days only." Doctor Townsend 
(1907) writes: 

Dr. Mumford, Mr. Frank Lewis, and others at Battle Harbor told us of shoot- 
ing " ice patridges," which came with the ice and seals in November or Decem- 
ber. They stay for about two weeks or a month and then depart, not to be 
seen again for a year. At times they are very abundant and even fly about the 
houses. These birds are shot for food, and are often obtained in the following 
manner : About a gallon of seals' blood is poured on the ice near the rocks, and 
as the birds hover about they are easily shot. Some of the birds in their eager- 
ness to obtain the blood dash themselves with such force against the ice as to 
kill themselves. 

A recent occurrence of the ivory gull in Portland Harbor, Maine, is 
recorded by Mr. Arthur TI. Norton (1918) ; he and Mr. Walter H. 
Rich observed it at short range on January 5, 1918. He says : 

The snowy whiteness of its plumage was always noticeably different from any 
other gull in the harbor, which contained at the time an abundance of Larus 
argentatus in all plumages, Larus kumlieni, and Larus leucopterus. Its habits 
and flight also differed distinctly ; it was much more restless, now alighting on 
the ice, either to remain at rest for a few minutes, or to feed at the water's 
edge, and then away to search the edge of the ice field or to feed near some 
of the docks. It seemed to pay little or no attention to the other gulls or their 
feeding. On the ice it ran rapidly, suggesting the action of a large plover. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 35 

Its restlessness and independent action suggested to me the action of Larus 
atricilla, as it appears in the company of Larus argentatus. Its dashing flight 
seemed more like that of a jaeger than that of a gull. The wing was used at 
full extent with very little flexure at humero-radial and carpal joints, and was 
broad and wedge shaped in comparison with the narrower wing of Larus 
argenatus. It was seen for the last time January 7 by Mr. Rich, though daily 
watch has been kept to the present time (Feb. 22, 1918). During the 
period that the bird was seen the mercury was hardly rising above 0° F., and 
the harbor and bay was a solid field of ice except as broken by the ever busy 
tugs laboring to keep an open channel. 

DISTRIBT7TION. 

Breeding range. — High northern latitudes, probably circumpolar. 
Known breeding places: Prince Patrick Island, Melville Island 
(Winter Harbor) , northern Baffin Land (Port Bo wen) , and northern 
Greenland (Kane Basin and Kennedy Channel, and on the north- 
eastern coast from latitude 74° to 81°) ; also said to have bred at 
Darnley Bay, east of Franklin Bay, on the Arctic coast. In the 
Eastern Hemisphere, at Storoen near Spitzbergen and Franz Josef 
Land. 

'Winter range. — Probably the open circumpolar seas as far north 
as unfrozen water occurs. Said to occur in some numbers in winter 
in southern Greenland and along the Labrador coast. In Europe it 
occasionally winters about the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland 
and northern France. Many winter records are of single birds, 
probably stragglers. 

Spring migration. — Early dates of arrival : Melville Island, Win- 
ter Harbor, May 24; Ellesmere Land, Peterman Fiord, May 28; 
Greenland, Etah, June 1; Prince Patrick Island, June 12. Late 
dates of departure: Quebec, Godbout, March 7; Labrador, Sand- 
wich Bay, June 12 ; Alaska, Point Barrow, May 22 to June 2. 

Fall migration. — Fall and winter wanderings are erratic. Dates 
of arrival: Cumberland Gulf, October 24 and November 5; Anti- 
costi Island, October; Quebec, Godbout, December 9; New Bruns- 
wick, St. John, November ; Maine, Portland, January 4 and 5 ; Massa- 
chusetts, Monomoy Island, December 1; Long Island, ! Sayville, 
January 5; Bering Strait, November 9; Commander Islands, De- 
cember 2. Dates of departure : Ellesmere Land, Lincoln Bay, Sep- 
tember 1 ; Wellington Channel, September 15 ; Boothia Felix, Sep- 
tember 21 ; Alaska, Point Barrow, September 25 to October 10. 

Casual records. — Has occurred twice in British Columbia (Dease 
Lake, Cassiar, September, 1899, and Penticton, Okanagan Lake, Oc- 
tober, 1897). 

Rare or accidental in Ontario (Toronto, December 25, 1887). 



36 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

HISSA TRIDACTYLA TRIDACTYLA (Linnaeus). 
KITTIWAKE. 
HABITS. 

The hardy kittiwake has been well named, on the New England 
coast, the u frost gull " or the " winter gull," for its arrival seems 
to indicate the coming of hard frosts and the beginning of real winter. 
It seems to bring with it the first cold breath of ice and snow from 
the rugged Arctic coasts where it makes its summer home. This 
species is always associated in my mind with icebergs and the great 
Greenland ice packs, which drift southward with the Arctic current, 
and in its summer home, with the dark, frowning cliffs of the frozen 
north, which tower for hundreds of feet above the stormy ice-bound 
seas until lost to sight in shrouds of mist and fog, where the " frost 
gulls " find a safe retreat in which to rear their hardy offspring. 

Spring. — According to Hagerup (1891) the kittiwakes arrive in 
Greenland early in April : 

From their arrival till the middle of May they keep together in one or more 
large flocks, and are then very timid and noisy. This is, perhaps, because the 
fjord is to a great extent covered with ice, so that their nesting ground lies 
8 to 10 miles from open water. On clear days in April a flock of some 2,000 
may be seen rising to a great height, say 3,000 and to 4,000 feet, sometimes 
going out of sight, so that one can only hear their screeching as they rapidly 
wheel about. They are then wont to make an excursion inland, above the ice, 
toward their breeding place. On returning they descend somewhat more 
scattered; but at once, on reaching the water, they gather close together. 
These exercises they often go through many times a day. In May they 
assemble in smaller flocks and are less shy. About 2,000 lay their eggs on the 
front of a perpendicular cliff situated at the head of the fjord. The lowest 
nests may easily be reached from a boat ; the highest are about 150 feet above 
the sea. The eggs are laid chiefly during the first 10 days of June, and the 
young fly from their nests about the middle of August. (The earliest date on 
which I have seen a young bird is the 7th of August. ) After that they generally 
go about in small flocks or singly and keep comparatively silent. On a few 
occasions only, on August afternoons, I have seen large flocks of 500 to 1,000 
individuals rise to a great height and fly toward the ocean. 

Courtship. — Mr. Edmund Selous (1905) says, in referring to the 
courtship of the kittiwake, that the inside of the mouth is of " a fine 
rich red, or orange red color," and that " both sexes open their bills 
widely and crane about, with their heads turned toward each other, 
whilst at the same time uttering their shrieking, clamorous cry. 
The motion, however, is often continued after the cry has ceased, 
and this we might expect if the birds took any pleasure in the bril- 
liant gleam of color which each presents to and, as it were, flashes 
about in front of the other." 






U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 7 




Bird Rock, Quebec. 



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Bird Rock, Quebec. A. C. Bent. 

KlTTIWAKE. 

For description see page 329. 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NOETH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 37 

Mr. W. Elmer Ekblaw, in his Greenland notes, says : 

About June 10 the kittiwake begins mating. The rivalry for mates and nests 
is keen, and the struggles over the nests are bitter and prolonged. I watched 
two birds fight for a nest for over an hour. When one alighted upon the nest 
he turned at once with open bill and angry scream to meet the rival which he 
expected to attack him at once. Usually the other claimant for the nest was 
quick in his attempt to eject the first. With bills locked like the jaws of 
fighting bull terriers, they wrestled with each other, shaking and tugging and 
pulling fiercely until they fell off the ledge and fluttered to the ice still in 
death grip. Once on the ice they soon ceased their combat, and separated, both 
angrily screaming. The contest was many times repeated. 

Nesting. — The kittiwake is decidedly an oceanic gull, being seldom 
seen inland, except as a wanderer on migrations, and breeding on 
the rocky cliffs and crags of our Arctic coasts exposed to all the fury 
of ocean storms in which it seems to delight. On the Greenland 
coast most of the large breeding colonies are on the high cliffs near the 
heads of deep fjords, but farther south the preference seems to be 
for lofty rocky islands. 

My first intimate study of the nesting habits of the Atlantic kitti- 
wake was made on the famous Bird Rocks, in the Gulf of St. Law- 
rence, in 1904, one of the southernmost outposts of its breeding range. 
We landed here in a small boat, late in the evening of June 23, under 
rather exciting circumstances. As the great cliffs towered above us 
in the moonlight we saw a lantern coming down the ladder to show 
us where to land and we ran in among the breakers. There was a 
crash which brought us to our feet as we struck an unseen rock ; but 
the next wave carried us over it and landed us among the rocks and 
flying spray. We were overboard in an instant, struggling in the 
surf up to our waists, for the boat was rapidly filling, as wave after 
wave broke over us. A few moments of rapid work served to unload 
our baggage and attach a stout line to the boat, the signal was passed 
aloft and the powerful steam winch above landed her high and dry. 
After exchanging hearty greetings with our genial host, Captain 
Bourque, we enjoyed the novel experience of being hoisted up in a 
crate to the top of the cliff, over 100 feet high. It was certainly a 
new and interesting sensation to feel ourselves slowly rising in the 
darkness up the face of these somber cliffs, with the surf thundering 
on the rocks below us and with a cloud of screaming seabirds hover- 
ing about us, barely discernible in the moonlight, like a swarm of 
ghostly bats whose slumber had been disturbed and who were pro- 
testing at our rude intrusion. 

On the following day the wind was blowing a gale and clouds of 
sea birds were drifting about the rock in a bewildering maze, 10,000 
of them in all. There were great white gannets sailing on long pow- 
erful wings, tipped with black ; clouds of snowy kittiwakes hovering 



38 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

in the air; hundreds of swift-winged murres and razor-billed auks 
darting out from the cliffs ; and quaint little parties of curious puffins 
perched on the rocks. There was a constant babel of voices, the 
mingled cries of the varied throngs ; deep, guttural croaks and hoarse 
grunts from the gannets; a variety of soft purring notes from tht 
murres; and sharp, piercing cries from the active kittiwakes dis- 
tinctly pronouncing the three syllables for which they are named, as 
if beseeching us to " keep away " from their precious nests. 

For a more intimate study of their nesting habits we were lowered 
down the face of the cliff in a crate, dangling at the end of a long 
rope and whirling helplessly about in space, but within a few feet 
of the confiding, gentle birds on their nests. They were so ac- 
customed to the intimacy of man that it was an easy matter to 
study and photograph the dainty creatures at short range. Their 
nests were scattered all over the perpendicular face of the cliff, on 
every available little shelf. I was surprised to see how small and 
narrow a ledge could support a nest in safety. The nests were 
firmly and well built of seaweeds, grasses, and mosses, and were 
securely plastered on to the rock; apparently they were made of 
wet seaweed which adhered firmly to the rock as it dried; evi- 
dently the nests had been used for successive seasons, fresh material 
being added each year. They were deeply cupped and well built up 
on the outer sides, so as to form safe cradles for the young. Incu- 
bation was far advanced at this date (June 24), and many of the 
eggs had hatched. The nests must, indeed, be well built to hold the 
weight of two lusty young and the brooding parent in such pre- 
carious situations. Mr. Ora W. Knight (1908) gives the dimen- 
sions of a nest found on Baccalieu Island, Newfoundland. "Its 
diameter at base was 1 foot, and at top 8 inches; interior diameter, 
6 inches ; and depth, 2 inches." 

Eggs. — The kittiwake is said to lay as many as four or five 
eggs, but I believe that two is the usual number ; that three eggs are 
rarely laid ; and that larger numbers are very unusual. I am quite 
sure that more than 90 per cent of the nests that I have seen have 
held only two eggs. Often only a single egg is hatched. The eggs 
vary in shape from somewhat pointed ovate to short ovate, rarely 
elongate ovate; the shell is thin and smooth, but without much 
lustre. The ground color varies from " pinkish buff " or " olive 
buff " to " cartridge buff," " pale olive buff," or bluish white. The 
spots are irregular in arrangement, size, and shape ; most eggs have 
underlying spots or blotches of " light Quaker drab " or " light 
mouse gray " ; these are either overlaid or mixed with darker spots, 
blotches, or scrawls of " clay color," " snuff brown," " tawny olive," 
" Vandyke brown," or " sepia " of various shades. The measure- 
ments of 41 eggs in various collections average 56.1 by 40.8 milli- 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 







lip'' 


■ter -4&.f '*™ 





Bird Rock, Quebec. 



A. C. Bent. 




Bird Rock, Quebec. 



KlTTIWAKE. 



A. C. Bent. 



For description see page 330 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN" GULLS AND TERNS, 39 

meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 62.5 by 42.5, 58 
by 43.5, 53 by 39 and 55 by 37.5 millimeters. 

Young. — The period of incubation is said to be 26 days. Probably 
both. sexes incubate, as both parents are usually together at the nest 
and both are devoted to the young. The young remain in the nest, 
where they are fed by their parents, until they are fully fledged. 
The narrow confines of the usual nest, on its small shelf of rock, per- 
mit no wandering habits, as common among other gulls. Any 
attempt to stray from the nest would usually result in a disastrous 
fall from a dizzy height to dangerous rocks or surf below; so the 
young birds must of necessity stay in the nest until able to fly. 
Many such fatal accidents probably occur, which serve to keep in 
cheek the increase of the species, which is otherwise secure from 
molestation on its nesting grounds. 

On North Bird Eock, where many of the nests are on the lower 
ledges, I noticed on July 24, 1915, that many of the nearly fledged 
young had been able to crawl or jump out of the nests and were 
wandering about over the flat rocks below the cliffs, though they 
were not able to fly. Many of the older young were already on the 
wing at this date and a few were still in the nests. 

Plumages. — The newly hatched young is covered with long, soft, 
glossy down, which is white and spotless, but tinged basally with 
yellowish gray and buffy on the back and thighs, and tipped with 
dusky, giving it a grizzly appearance, quite unlike other young gulls. 
The young bird grows rapidly and soon begins to assume the first 
winter plumage, which appears first on the scapulars, then on the 
wings, back, and neck. There is no strictly juvenal plumage in this 
species. In the first winter plumage the bill is black; there is a 
blackish patch on the hind neck; the lesser wing-coverts and some- 
times the greater wing-coverts and scapulars are largely black; the 
tail has a broad black band at the tip ; the dusky spots on the head, 
before and behind the eye, are darker than in adults. A partial 
molt occurs early in the spring, usually in February and March, 
but sometimes as early as December, in which most of the dusky 
feathers in the head are replaced by white or lighter colored feathers 
and the black lesser wing-coverts disappear. At the first postnuptial 
molt in August young birds become indistinguishable from adults 
when one year old, a complete molt producing the adult winter 
plumage. A partial prenuptial molt, involving the head, neck, and 
body feathers, produces the adult nuptial plumage with the pure 
white head and yellow bill. Adults have a complete molt in the 
summer, producing the well-known winter plumage. 

Food. — A flock' of feeding kittiwakes is an animated and a pretty 
sight. During the latter part of the summer they assemble in enor- 
mous numbers in the numerous bays and " tickles " of the Labrador 
17478S— 21 i 



40 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

coast, and congregate about the fishing vessels to pick up the scraps 
that are thrown overboard. A school of small fry, swimming near 
the surface, soon attracts an interested throng of these little gulls 
which hover over them and scream excitedly as they gently swoop 
down with elevated wings to pick the small fish from the surface 
without wetting a feather. Although small fishes procured in this 
way constitute the principal food of the kittiwake, it also eats crus- 
taceans, aquatic larvs9, and other marine animals which it gleans 
from the water. It feeds to some extent along the beaches and on 
the bare sand flats at low tide, where it finds various small mollusks, 
crustaceans, and other marine invertebrates. Often large flocks are 
seen feeding in the flats. It is less of a scavenger than the larger 
gulls and less given to frequenting the inner harbors. It is said to 
drink salt water exclusively, being seldom seen inland. Mr. Brew- 
ster (1883) reports a captive kittiwake that refused fresh water and 
drank salt water eagerly. 

Behavior. — The flight of the kittiwake is buoyant, graceful, and 
easy. Audubon (1840) describes its movements, in his usual graphic 
style, as follows: 

Bearing up against the heaviest gale, it passes from one trough of the sea to 
another as if anxious to rest for an instant under the lee of the billows; yet 
as these are seen to rear their curling crests," the gull is already several feet 
above them and preparing to plunge into the next hollow. While in our harbor, 
and during fine weather, they seemed to play with their companions of other 
species. Now with a spiral curve they descend toward the water, support 
themselves by beats of their wings, decline their heads, and pick up a young 
herring or some bit of garbage, when away they fly, chased perhaps by several 
others anxious to rob them of the prize. Noon has arrived. High above the 
masthead of our largest man-of-war the kittiwakes float gracefully in wide 
circles until all, as if fatigued, sail downward again with common accord 
toward the transparent deep, and, alighting close to each other, seem to ride 
safely at anchor. There they now occupy, themselves in cleaning and arranging 
their beautiful plumage. 

It flies more swiftly than the larger gulls and with more rapid 
wing beats. It can be readily recognized by the flight, even at a 
long distance, by one who is familiar with it. Dr. Charles W. 
Townsend writes to me : 

Although the flight of the kittiwake is characteristically graceful, rapid, and 
swallow like, with quick wing strokes, I have seen them get up from the sur- 
face of the water just in time to clear the bow of the advancing steamer and 
fly off with slow and heavy wing beats, as if loath to leave a good fishing 
ground. In the adult the black wing tips are short and cut squarely across, 
as if the wings were dipped in black. In the immature plumage it most closely 
resembles the young Bonaparte's gull, but the black nuchal crescent and the 
black wing coverts are conspicuous, and there is more black on the primaries, 
in which the color pattern is also different. 

The ordinary cry of the kittiwake suggests its name, which it seems 
to pronounce quite distinctly. This is the soft and mellow note 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 41 

most often heard about its breeding grounds, but when much excited 
or alarmed, it indulges in loud, shrill, piercing screams, as it darts 
down upon the intruder. When hovering in large flocks over a 
school of fish or other tempting feast it becomes very noisy, uttering 
loud, harsh cries, somewhat resembling the notes of the gull-billed 
tern. Doctor Townsend adds the following notes: 

Besides tlie cry, which recalls its name Kit-ti-wake, I have noted down the 
syllables Ka-ake; sharp and piercing Ki, Ki, Ki; rapidly repeated and harsh 
rattling Kaa, Kaa, Kae, Kae, and Kaak Kaak. 

The gentle kittiwake is a highly gregarious and sociable species. 
Among the various sea birds, with which it is intimately associated 
on its breeding grounds, it is a harmless and a friendly neighbor. 
It does not seem to molest the eggs or young of the other species at 
all and it has no enemies among them. At other seasons it is often 
persecuted by the jaegers, the relentless pursuers of all the smaller 
gulls and terns, the highway robbers of the northern seas. The 
worst enemy of the kittiwake is man. In winter, when these gulls 
are abundant on the New England coast, they are shot in large 
numbers. They are tame and unsuspicious, gathering, like terns, in 
large flocks over a fallen companion, making it easy for the gunner 
to kill as many as he chooses. They may easily be attracted about the 
fisherman's boat by throwing overboard cod livers or other refuse, 
where they are easily shot and may often be caught on a baited hook. 
Their bodies are used for food or for bait and their plumage is, or 
was, sold for millinery purposes ; but often they are killed in purely 
wanton. sport. Macgillivray (1852) says of the way these birds have 
been killed on the British coast : 

Parties are formed on our eastern coast for the sole purpose of shooting 
them ; and I have seen a person station himself on the top of the kittiwake cliff 
of the Isle of May, and shoot incessantly for several hours, without so much 
as afterwards picking up a single individual of the many killed and maimed 
birds with which the smooth water was strewn beneath. 

Fall. — The fall migration starts early; that is, the birds move 
away from their breeding grounds early and begin to work down 
the coast in August and September. Dr. Charles W. Townsend 
(1907) saw about 5,000 kittiwakes at the mouth of Hamilton Inlet, 
Labrador, on July 18, 1906. He describes their behavior as follows : 

At Hamilton Inlet thousands of kittiwakes covered the water, and as we 
steamed on they rose in bodies of 500 or more and whirled about like gusts 
of snow driven by the wind, their pure white plumage lit up by the rays of the 
setting sun. Silent for the most part, they occasionally emitted cries of kae kae, 
or ka-ake, and at times one could imagine the syllables of kittiwake. On our 
return trip we ran into a flock of nearly the same size near Cape Harrison. 
The appearance of a snowstorm here was more perfect, for there was a thick 
fog bank, on the edge of which the kittiwakes played. The sun shining on 
the birds before the fog shut them out was very striking. They were occa- 



42 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

sionally plunging for capelins, at times disappearing entirely under water 
with a splash. One could often be seen flying with a fish hanging by one end 
from its bill. A jaeger suddenly appeared on the scene, and the twisting and 
turning of pursuer and pursued was interesting to see. The kittiwake finally 
dropped his prey, and the jaeger settled on the water to pick it up. 

On my way south along the Labrador coast on August 21, 1912, 
I saw large numbers of old and young kittiwakes near Makkovik 
and Ragged Islands, far south of their breeding grounds. Mr. 
Lucien M. Turner says of their habits on the Labrador coast : 

Scores and hundreds of the kittiwake gull were observed on the Labrador 
coast in the early part of July, 1882. They were most numerous in the Arctic 
current bearing icebergs, on which these birds at times assembled in thou- 
sands as the mass of ice towered at times over 200 feet high and presented an 
area of over half a mile square on the top of it. Here the birds sat com- 
pactly, slowly moving to the southward; they probably congregated during 
these times after having gorged themselves with capelins and lance fishes to 
allow the process of digestion to be completed. A single rifle shot reverberating 
against the wall of ice or a ball projected in the midst of these birds was 
sufficient to startle the entire community into flight, and upon which they 
would lazily circle round and round the vessel or sway back and forth across 
her wake, always at a provoking distance, until one would be dropped while 
on wing with a rifle ball. The living birds wheeled over their dead companion 
in angry curiosity as they clamored their rattling cry. 

Winter. — The kittiwake does not become common on the Massa- 
chusetts coast until about the middle of October, after which it is 
common off our coasts all winter, where it is known as the " winter 
gull," " frost gull," or " pinny owl." Dr. Charles W. Townsend 
(1905) says of its winter habits: 

The kittiwake is an offshore gull, one that is to be found especially about 
fishing vessels in winter, gleaning the waves for the refuse which is always to 
be found in the neighborhood of these boats. In my notes of a trip to Nova 
Scotia from Boston, in December, 1883, I have entered that they were very 
abundant everywhere off the coast. Off Rockport in winter, kittiwakes begin 
to be common 2 or 3 miles from land, and are generally abundant on the 
fishing grounds, 8 or 10 miles out. They may, however, be frequently seen 
from the shore, especially if the day be stormy and the shore an open one. 
They often visit the little harbor of Rockport with its wealth of fish gurry. 
They also fly occasionally over the beaches, and under these circumstances I 
have had no difficulty in shooting them for specimens, as, unlike the herring 
gull, they do not hesitate to fly within gunshot. I have never seen them in 
the tidal estuaries. 

Mr. Walter H. Rich has sent me the following notes on the be- 
havior of the kittiwake or " winter bird," as it is called, on Georges 
Banks : 

As might be guessed from the name, it is during the coldest weather that 
this bird is most abundant, and at this season, so the writer was informed, 
not infrequently they became so tame as to perch in rows upon the main booms 
of the vessels on frosty mornings, awaiting their breakfasts. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 43 

The first arrivals (five birds) appeared on the morning of October 12, 1913. 

Every day following their arrival showed increasing numbers until in a 
fortnight there were always " hundreds," and at times " thousands " would 
make but a moderate estimate of their flocks. My records for November 16 
says, " winter birds in millions " — perhaps an exaggeration, yet so it seemed. 
Scarcely a daylight hour after their arrival but was filled with their chatter- 
ing squeal; scarcely a moment but saw them wheeling about the steamers, 
appearing just before sun up and standing by to give any needed assistance as 
long as the sun held above the western rim of the ocean. 

The signal for hauling the net brought great activity among the flocks banked 
up on either side of the steamer's path in 2^-mile-long lines of white birds 
roosting upon the water. There were literally thousands of gulls that rose and 
drifted along over the swells, just keeping pace with the steamer's slow progress. 
Other gulls there were, both brown plumaged and full plumaged — ring-bill, 
herring gull, black-backed, and a few of the large white or pearly gulls, of 
species undetermined where they wheeled in a safe offing. But all these were 
at a disadvantage, both numerically and otherwise, with the kittiwakes, who stole 
from them and beat them to every piece of liver and waste thrown overside. 
If the prize sinks the big gull has lost it ; not so the little " winter bird," who 
dives swiftly and gracefully from the wing and brings it up. This is the only 
gull which the writer has ever seen to dive. Naturally their success makes them 
unpopular with the losers, who pursue and harry the kittiwake, but to little 
effect, since the small gull is too active to suffer much in these attempts at 
reprisal. 

In fair weather during midday the gulls of all species soar far aloft to wheel 
in wide circles and drift in the sunshine of the upper air. The " winter bird " 
indulges in this also, but to a somewhat lesser extent than do the gulls of other 
species. The greater part of the kittiwake flocks prefer to bank up along the 
steamer's course, so as to be at hand at the haul, utilizing the interval to preen 
their feathers and bathe and dip like sparows in a puddle. In fact, it was a 
considerable time before I could be sure that the kittiwake joined in these lofty 
aerial maneuvers; yet they surely did, sweeping on motionless wrings in great 
spirals at a height where the eye could hardly follow them or distinguish them, 
but never failing to drop with all swiftness when warned by the whistle that the 
feast was about to be spread for them. What an enormous amount of food 
must be needed to support all this great sea-bird population — the hags and 
petrels in the summer months, the gulls in the colder weather, the full round of 
the year. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere ; in 
North America east to Greenland and the Labrador coast. South to 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Newfoundland, Bird Rock, Bonaventure 
Island, and Anticosti) and probably parts of Hudson Bay. The 
western limit of its range, where the subspecies pollicaris takes its 
place, is unknown, but it has been stated to occur west to Franklin 
Bay. North to Prince Albert Land (near Princess Royal Islands) ; 
the south shore of North Somerset; north of Wellington Channel 
(latitude 77°), and northern Greenland (Thank God Harbor on the 
northwestern coast, and between latitude 80° and 81° on the north- 
eastern coast). In the Old World breeds from Iceland, Great Brit- 



44 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

ain (Shetland and Orkney Islands, Hebrides, coast of Ireland and 
England, except southern parts) ; Spitzbergen, probably Franz Josef 
Land, Nova Zembla and coast of western Siberia (said by Koren to 
range east to Chaun Bay, northern Siberia. South to northwestern 
France. 

Breeding grounds protected in the Canadian reservations on Bird 
Rock, Bonaventure Island, and Perce Rock. 

Winter range. — Offshore from Gulf of St. Lawrence (Prince Ed- 
ward Island), Nova Scotia (Halifax), New Brunswick (Grand 
Manan) , and coast of Maine ; occasionally on the Great Lakes ; south 
to New Jersey and the Bermudas, and even farther south (latitude 
25° 57' N., east of Miami). In Europe winters from the coasts of 
Great Britain south to the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas, the 
Canary Islands, and Azores. 

Spring migration. — Return from ocean wandering to its breeding 
grounds. Early dates of arrival: Prince Edward Island, March 15 
(average March 26) ; Quebec, Godbout. March 25 (average April 6) ; 
Greenland, Ivigtuk, March 26; Dover Strait, May 20; and Cape 
York, June 10. Late dates of departure: Bermuda, April 4; New 
York, Orleans County, April 10 ; Connecticut, New Haven, April 13. 

Fall migration. — Offshore and southward. Early dates of arrival : 
Massachusetts, October 2 (average November 6) ; Long Island, Octo- 
ber 13; Pennsylvania, Erie, October IT. Late dates of departure: 
Northeastern Greenland, latitude 75° 20', August 1 ; Ellesmere Land, 
Lincoln Bay, September 1 ; Wellington Channel, September 2 ; Fro- 
bischer Bay, September 2; Cumberland Gulf, September 19; New- 
foundland, October 17. 

Casual records. — Wanders occasionally to various points in the 
interior; to the Great Lakes frequently, as far west as Michigan 
(Neebish Island, fall 1893-94) and Wisconsin (Racine, March 17, 
1884) ; up the Mackenzie Valley (Fort Resolution, May 23, 1860) : 
west in the interior to Wyoming (Douglas, November 18, 1898). 

Egg dates. — Great Britain: Thirty-one records, April 6 to Jm^e 
27 ; sixteen records, June 4 to 12. Newfoundland : Ten records, May 
30 to July 1 ; five records, June 14 to 20. Gulf of St. Lawrence : Ten 
records, June 10 to 26 ; five records, June 13 to 25. 

RISSA TRIDACTYLA POLLICARIS Ridgway. 
PACIFIC KITTIWAKE. 

HABITS. 

The Pacific form of the well-known kittiwake differs from its 
eastern relative in having a larger hind toe and more extensive black 
tips on the primaries, but its habits are practically the same and its 
life history is similar. The two subspecies together occupy a wide 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 45 

range throughout the northern part of the northern hemisphere, 
giving the species a eircumpolar distribution. 

Spring. — The spring migration is early, reaching Bering Island, 
in the Commander group, according to Stejneger (1885), about the 
1st of April. In Bering Sea the migration is delayed until the 
breaking up of the ice. Nelson (1887) says : 

At St. Michaels each year they arrive from the 10th to the 18th of May, and 
were first seen searching for food in the narrow water channels in the tide 
cracks along shore. As the open spaces appeared they congregated there until 
in early June, when the ice broke up and moved offshore. At this time the 
kittiwakes sought the rugged cliffs along the shore of the mainland or the 
precipitous islands dotting Bering Sea and the adjoining Arctic. 

Courtship. — Very little seems to be known about the courtship or 
mating performances of this bird, but Mr. H. W. Elliott (1875) says 
that "the male treads the female on the nest, and nowhere else, 
making a loud shrill, screaming sound during the ceremony." 

Nesting. — We saw plenty of kittiwakes near the eastern end of 
the Aleutian Islands, where they were probably breeding in the 
vicinity of Akutan Island. West of Unalaska we saw very few 
birds and no signs of breeding colonies. Doctor Stejneger (1885) 
found them breeding in " astonishing numbers " at certain places in 
the Commander Islands, at the western end of the chain, where they 
choose "steep walls, rising perpendicularly out of the deep sea, 
and especially high pinnacles standing lonely amidst the foaming 
breakers, provided they are fitted out with shelves and projections 
upon which to place the nests." Dr. W. H. Dall (1873) gives us the 
following good account of a breeding colony in the Shumagin Islands, 
south of the Alaska Peninsula : 

On entering Coal Harhor, Unga, we were at once struck with the peculiar white 
line which wound around the precipitous cliffs of Round Island, and was seen 
to be caused by the presence of birds; and as soon as an opportunity was 
afforded I took a boat and went to the locality to examine it. The nests, in 
their position, were unlike anything I had ever seen before. At first it ap- 
peared as if they were fastened to the perpendicular face of the rock, but on 
a close examination it appeared that two parallel strata of the metamorphic 
sandstone of the cliffs, being harder than the rest, had weathered out, stand- 
ing out from the face of the cliff from 1 to 4 inches, more or less irregularly. 
The nests were built where these broken ledges afforded a partial support, 
though extending over more than half their width. The lines of nests exactly 
followed the winding projections of these ledges, everywhere giving a very sin- 
gular appearance to the cliff, especially when the white birds were sitting on 
them. The nests were built with dry grass, agglutinated together and to the 
rock in some unexplained manner; perhaps by a mucus secreted by the bird 
for the purpose. The nests had a very shallow depression at the top in which 
lay two eggs. The whole establishment had an intolerable odor of guano, and 
the nests were very filthy. The birds hardly moved at our approach; only 
those within a few yards leaving their posts. I reached up and took down two 
nests, one containing two young birds, and the other empty. Wind coming up, 



46 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

we were obliged to pull away, and the bird, which came back, lighted on the 
rock where her nest and young had been with evident astonishment at the 
mysterious disappearance. After flying about a little she again settled on 
the spot, and, suddenly making up her mind that foul play on the part of some 
other bird had taken place, she commenced a furious assault on her nearest 
neighbor. As we pulled away the little fellows began to be effected by the 
motion of the boat, and with the most ludicrous expression of nausea, imitat- 
ing as closely as a bird could do the motions and expression of a seasick person, 
they very soon deposited their dinner on the edge of the nest. It was composed 
of small fishes or minnows, too much disorganized to be identified. Eggs, in a 
moderately fresh condition, were obtained about the same time, but most of 
them were far advanced toward hatching. 

In Bering Sea we found this to be one of the commonest gulls 
and found it breeding on all of the islands where it could find high, 
rocky cliffs. On Walrus Island, where there are no high cliffs, we 
had an unusually good opportunity to examine the nests. Among 
the hosts of sea birds which made their summer home on this won- 
derful island a few little parties, of from four to six pairs each, of 
Pacific kittiwakes found a scanty foothold on the vertical faces 
of the low, rocky cliffs. Here their nests were skillfully placed on 
the narrow ledges or on little protuberances which seemed hardly 
wide enough to hold them, and often they were within a few feet 
of nesting California murres or red-faced cormorants, with which 
the island was overcrowded. The nests' were well made of soft 
green grass and bits of sod securely plastered onto the rocks and 
probably were repaired and used again year after year. They were 
well rounded, deeply cupped on top, and lined with fine dry grass. 
Most of the nests, on July 7, contained two eggs, some only one, but 
none of them held young. The incubating birds and their mates 
standing near their nests were very gentle and tame. We had no 
difficulty in getting near enough to photograph them. 

Eggs. — The eggs of the Pacific^ kittiwakes are practically indis- 
tinguishable from those of the Atlantic kittiwake, though they will 
average a trifle larger and a trifle more pointed. The ground color 
seems to run more to the lighter shades, from " tilleul buff " or " olive 
buff " to " cartridge buff " or " pale olive buff." Many sets show 
very pale shades of " glaucous green " or even greenish or bluish 
white. The markings are about the same as in the Atlantic bird, 
but average lighter with a larger proportion of the drab or gray 
spots. The measurements of 40 eggs in the United States National 
Museum and the writer's collections average 58.4 by 41.3 milli- 
meters, the eggs showing the four extreme measure 63 by 43.5, 
55.5 by 41.5 and 58.5 by 37.5 millimeters. 

Young. — The young remain in the nests and are fed by their 
parents until they are able to fly. Both old and young birds spend 
much of their time on their breeding grounds and frequent their old 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 9 




Walrus Island, Alaska. 



A. C. Bent. 




Walrus Island, Alaska, 



Pacific Kittiwake, 



A. C. Bent. 



For description see page 320 



LIEE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 47 

nests until ready to migrate in September. The description of the 
downy young and the sequences of molts and plumages, already 
given for the Atlantic kittiwake, will do equally well for the Pacific 
subspecies. I can find no essential points of difference. 
Food. — Nelson (1887) says of their feeding habits: 

From the end of August they frequent the inner bays and mouths of small 
streams, and are often seen in large parties feeding upon the myriads of stickle 
backs which are found along the coast at this season. They pursue their prey 
in the same graceful manner as the terns, by hovering over the water and 
plunging down head foremost. In the bay at St. Michaels they were frequently 
seen following a school of white whales, evidently to secure such fragments of 
fish or other food as the whales dropped in the water. It was curious to note 
how well the birds timed the whale and anticipated their appearance as the 
latter came up to blow. 

Along the beach at Nome we saw kitti wakes almost constantly 
where they seemed to be picking up bits of garbage. Mr. A. W. An- 
thony (1906) saw them in winter at Puget Sound, associated with 
other gulls about the garbage heaps. 

Behavior. — Dr. E. W. Nelson (1883) pays the following tribute to 
the flight powers of this kittiwake : 

During our cruising in the summer of 1881 I had repeated occasions to notice 
the graceful motions and powers of flight possessed by this handsome gull. Its 
buoyancy during the worst gales we met was fully equal to that possessed by 
the Rodger's fulmar, with which it frequently associated at these times. These 
birds were continually gliding back and forth in graceful curves, now passing 
directly into the face of the gale, then darting off to one side on a long circuit, 
always moving steadily, with only an occasional stroke of the wings for long 
periods if there was a strong wind. 

Mr. William Palmer (1890) also shows his admiration of it in the 
following words: 

Viewed from the cliffs the flight of these birds is remarkably graceful, and 
especially so when they have been disturbed from a midday siesta. I thus 
disturbed several dozen one day and carefully watched them as they passed 
and repassed the spot where I sat on the edge of the cliff. They were all 
within 20 yards and continually paraded parallel with the cliff, all the while 
intently watching me. They would pass by for some 30 to 40 yards, then 
turn and fly an equal distance on the other side before again making a turn. 
Usually the whole distance was accomplished by sailing, and often the turns 
and several lengths were traveled in the same way. Thus, selecting an indi- 
vidual and keeping my eyes on him I often counted from two to three trips 
without a flap of the wing. One individual thus noted made the trip seven 
times without once changing his wings from their rigid outstretched position. 
The length of his parade was fully 50 yards and he sailed in an almost straight 
line, and rarely varied his level, being about as high above the sea as I was 
on the cliff. Not a movement of the air was perceptible to my senses. He 
was often so close that as he passed I could distinctly see the movement of 
his eye as he slightly turned his head to view me. Several times the fly lines 
of two birds would cross at about the same level, but rarely would one flap 
to gain impetus enough to get rapidly out of the way. It was more often 



48 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

accomplished by a quiver of the wings on the part of one of the two, a slight 
rise as the other passed beneath, and then a similar descent, and the con- 
tinuation of the journey without any distinct flapping whatever. They thus 
sailed in plain view as long as I remained on the rocks, probably 30 minutes. 

Winter. — These hardy birds of Arctic seas seem quite at home 
among the drifting ice and snowstorms, and it is not until their sum- 
mer feeding grounds become permanently closed with winter ice, in 
October, that they are forced southward to spend the winter months 
in the Aleutian Islands, along the Alaska coast, and south to Puget 
Sound, or even California. Here they associate freely with the other 
common gulls on the coast or spend their time offshore. They are so 
much more pelagic in their habits than other gulls that they seem 
much less abundant than they really are. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Coasts and islands of the North Pacific, Bering 
Sea, and the adjacent Arctic Ocean. East to Cape Lisburne and other 
suitable parts of the western Alaskan coast. South to Seldovia, 
Alaska, the Shumagin, Aleutian, Commander, and Kurile Islands. 
West along the coast of Kamchatka and northeastern Siberia to 
the Koliutschin Islands. Occurs in summer, but has not been found 
breeding on the coast of southern Alaska (Yakutat and Sitka) at 
Point Barrow and on the Siberian coast from Koliutschin Islands 
to Chaun Bay. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservations 
in Alaska : Aleutian Islands (as Kiska, Near Islands, Unga, Unimak 
Pass), Pribilofs, St. George Island. 

Winter range. — From southeastern Alaska (Sitka) and perhaps 
from the Aleutians, south along the coast of British Columbia, 
Washington, Oregon, and California to northern Lower California 
(San Geronimo Island). On the Asiatic side south to the Kurile 
Islands and Japan (Yezo and Tokyo). 

Spring migration. — A return from ocean wandering to its breed- 
ing grounds. Early dates of arrival: Commander Islands, Bering 
Island, April 1; Pribilof Islands, St. Paul, April 20; Alaska, St. 
Michael, May 6, and Point Barrow, June 2. Late dates of departure : 
Lower California, San Geronimo Island, March 17; California, 
Point Pinos, April 25 ; Washington, Port Townsend, May 19 ; British 
Columbia, May 24. 

Fall migration. — Mainly eastward and southward off the coasts, 
beginning in July and reaching British Columbia in September. 
Average date of arrival at Point Pinos is November 14, earliest 
November 5. Late dates of departure: Alaska, Point Barrow, 
August 31, and St. Michael about October 15 ; Pribilof Islands, St. 
Paul, October 12; Siberia, Koliutschin Island, September 22. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 10 




St. George Island, Alaska. 



C. H. Townsend. 



Red-Legged Kittiwake. 

For description see page 330. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 49 

Egg dates. — Pribilof Islands : Thirteen records, June 10 to July 7 ; 
seven records, June 25 to July 3. Northern Bering Sea : Nine rec- 
ords, June 10 to July 20 ; five records, June 20 to July 6. 

RISSA BREVIROSTRIS (Bruch). 

RED-LEGGED KITTIWAKE. 

HABITS. 

This is one of the species which I expected to find breeding 
abundantly among the Aleutian Islands, but I was disappointed to 
find that it was far from common about any of the islands that were 
visited. As we passed Akutan Island on the way to Unalaska I saw 
a large number of kittiwakes hovering about the rocky cliffs at a 
distance. I supposed that they were of this species, which is 
recorded as breeding on this island, but I was unable to stop and 
did not go near enough to identify them. I saw several about the 
Pribilof Islands, but only one specimen was taken. I did not find it 
on Walrus Island, where it is said to breed. 

Nesting. — Mr. Henry W. Elliott (1880), to whom we are indebted 
for practically all that we know about the habits of the red-legged 
kittiwake, says that it arrives on the fur-seal islands, for the purpose 
of breeding, about the 9th of May and of its nesting habits he writes : 

It is much more prudent and cautious than the auks and the murres, for its 
nests are always placed on nearly inaccessible shelves and points of mural 
walls, so that seldom can one be reached unless a person is lowered down to it 
by a rope passed over the cliff. Nest building is commenced early in May, and 
completed, generally, not much before the 1st of July. It uses dry grass and 
moss cemented with mud, which it gathers at the fresh-water pools and ponds 
scattered over the islands. The nest is solidly and neatly put up ; the parents 
work together in its construction most diligenty and amiably. Two eggs are 
the usual number, although occasionally three will be found in the nest. If 
these eggs are removed, the female will renew them like the " arrie " in the 
course of another week or 10 days. 

Dr. L. Stejneger (1885) found the red-legged kittiwake breed- 
ing abundantly in the Commander Islands, and says : 

Like its black-legged cousin, it only selects steep and inaccessible rocks, and 
in none of its habits at the breeding place could I detect any marked differ- 
ence. They also arrive at the islands about the same time, hatching their 
young simultaneously with the other species. The two species usually keep 
apart from each other. In the great rookery at Kikij Mys only one solitary 
red-legged bird was seen among the thousands and thousands of black feet, 
while a still greater colony at Gavaruschkaja Buchta consisted of red legs 
exclusively. On Copper Island, however, I found the two species breeding to- 
gether on the same rocky wall — the black feet always higher up than the pres- 
ent species. The two kinds were easily distinguished when sitting on the nests, 
brevirostris having the gray of the mantle of a perceptibly darker shade than 
pollicaris. 



50 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Eggs. — The set usually consists of two eggs, rarely three, and often 
only one. The eggs are usually about ovate in shape, and in a gen- 
eral way resemble those of the common kittiwake, though they aver- 
age lighter in color and are somewhat less heavily spotted. The 
ground color is bluish white, buffy white, creamy white, or even 
pure white. The markings consist of spots, blotches, or scrawls scat- 
tered irregularly over the egg or occasionally concentrated in a mass 
at the larger end or in a ring around it. 

These markings are in various shades of drab, lavender, or lilac, 
overlaid with various shades of brown, mostly the lighter shades, 
but sometimes as dark as "bister" or "sepia." The measurements 
of 43 eggs, in various collections, average 55.8 by 40.9 millimeters; 
the eggs showing the four extremes measure 66.5 by 45 and 50 by 
37 millimeters. 

Young.— Mr. Elliott (1880) says: 

Both parents assist in the labor of incubation, which lasts a trifle longer 
than the usual time — from 24 to 26 days. The chick comes out with a pure 
white downy coat, a pale whitish-gray bill and feet, and rests helplessly in the 
nest until its feathers grow. During this period it is a comical-looking object. 
The natives capture them now and then to make pets of, always having a 
number every year scattered through the village, usually tied by one leg to a 
stake at the doors of their houses, where they become very tame ; and it is not 
until fall, when cold weather sets in, that they become restless and willingly 
leave their captivity for the freedom of the air. 

Plumages. — The downy young are not distinguishable from those 
of the Pacific kittiwake, being covered with white down without 
spots. So far as I have been able to learn from the available mate- 
rial the molts and plumages are similar to those of the common 
species. There is no juvenal plumage, the young bird going directly 
from the downy stage into the first winter plumage ; in this plumage 
the young bird has a well-marked, dark, cervical collar, considerable 
dusky about the eyes, and a mantle variegated with grayish-white 
tips ; but it has no black on the wing coverts, secondaries, or tail, as 
in the common kittiwake. These dark markings are usually wholly 
or partially lost during the first spring, but they are sometimes re- 
tained through the summer by failure to molt in the spring or by a 
partial renewal of feathers in sympathy with the first winter plum- 
age. At the first postnuptial molt (in August) the adult winter 
plumage is assumed. 

Adults have a complete postnuptial molt in August and ap- 
parently a partial prenuptial molt early in the spring. Winter 
adults have the cervix and the auriculars washed with plumbeous. 
In the adult nuptial plumage this is one of the most beautiful birds 
in Bering Sea, where we learned to recognize it by the short, yellow 
bill, bright red feet, dark mantle, and wings. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 51 

Behavior. — I can not find any data on the food of the red-legged 
kittiwake, but probably it does not vary materially from that of 
closely related species. Mr. William Palmer (1899) writes, concern- 
ing his impression of this species on the Pribilof Islands : 

To my mind this is the most beautiful species on the islands. Always grace- 
ful, whether on the cliffs or flying, its beautiful form and delicate snow-white 
plumage, with its vermilion feet, adds much to the avifaunal wonders of these 
islands. Unlike its cousin, which carries its feet extended when flying, this 
species nearly always buries them in the feathers of its under body, as if fearful 
of showing their beauty except when absolutely necessary. When fog envelops 
these islands, both the land and sea, the sea birds away from home find their 
way by flying along the edges of the bluffs, where the stored heat in the rocks 
dissipates the rapidly drifting fog. The wily aleut, knowing these character- 
istics, ensconces himself behind a rock in a suitable location and with a large 
dip net intercepts the birds on their way along the bluffs. Thus many a meal 
is obtained, and, unfortunately, our pretty red-legged kittiwake too often falls 
a victim. 

Winter. — When the young birds are fully fledged and able to fly, 
both old and young birds desert their breeding places on the rocky 
cliffs, but do not migrate far away. They are resident throughout 
the year in the vicinity of the Pribilof and Aleutian Islands, and 
probably spend most of their time at sea during the winter months, 

DISTRIBUTION, 

Breeding range. — Islands of Bering Sea (the Pribilof, Near, and 
Commander Islands) are the only places where this species has been 
found breeding. It is supposed also to nest at various places in the 
Aleutians from Akutan Island westward. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservations 
in Alaska : Aleutian Islands, as Near Islands, Round Island, Unimak 
Pass, and Pribilof Islands. 

Winter range. — Unknown. Probably the open sea not far from 
its breeding grounds. It has been stated not to winter on the Near 
and Commander Islands. Elliott says it occurs about the Pribilofs 
at all seasons. 

Spring migration. — Apparently comes to the breeding grounds 
about May 9. 

Fall migration. — Birds leave the Pribilofs as soon as the young 
can fly, usually early in October, latest November 11. Has been seen 
near Unalaska Island, October 5. 

Casual records. — Taken at Forty Mile, Yukon Territory, October 
15, 1889; St. Michael, Alaska, September 18, 1876; Kamchatka (spec- 
imen, but no date) ; and Wr angel Island (specimen, but no date). 

Egg dates.— Pribilof Islands: Three records, July 1, 3, and 10. 
Kamchatka : Two records, June 12 and 22. 



52 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

LARUS HYPERBOREUS Gunnerus. 
GLAUCOUS GULL. 

HABITS. 

The name burgomaster is a fitting name for this chief magistrate 
of the feathered tribes of the Arctic seas, where it reigns supreme 
over all the lesser water fowl, levying its toll of food from their 
eggs and defenseless young. Well they know its strength and dread 
its power, as it sails majestically aloft over the somber, rocky cliffs 
of the Greenland coast, where, with myriads of sea fowl, it makes 
its summer home: and useless is it for them to resist the onslaught 
of its heavy beak when it swoops down to rob them of their callow 
young. Only the great skua, the fighting airship of the north, 
dares to give it battle and to drive the tyrant burgomaster from 
its chosen crag. Its only rival in size and power among the gulls 
is the great black-backed gull, and where these two meet on the 
Labrador coast they treat each other with dignified respect. 

Spring. — The glaucous gull is more oceanic in its habits than other 
large gulls. Though it resorts somewhat to inland lakes and rivers 
during migrations and in winter, it seems to prefer the cold, bleak, 
and rugged coasts of northern Labrador, Greenland, and the Arctic 
islands, whither it resorts in the spring as early as the rigors of the 
Arctic winter will allow. What few birds winter in southern Hud- 
son Bay and the region of the Great Lakes, migrate across Ungava 
and through Hudson Straits to the Atlantic coast; but the main 
migration route is northward along the seacoast following the open 
leads in the ice with the first migration of the eiders. Kumlien 
(1879) says: 

This gull is the first bird to arrive (at Cumberland Sound) in the spring. 
In 1878 they made their appearance in the Kingwah Fjord by the 20th of April. 
It was still about 70 miles to the floe edge and open water; still, they seemed 
to fare well on the young seals. 

At Ivigtut, Greenland, according to Hagerup (1891), "some, 
chiefly young birds, remain over winter. An old bird, in complete 
summer dress, was shot on the 20th of March." In Alaska, also, this 
species is the earliest migrant to arrive. Turner (1886) observes 
that they arrive at St. Michael by the middle of April, " sailing 
high in the air, almost out of sight. Their note, being the first inti- 
mation of their presence, is always gladly welcomed as a sign that 
the ice, farther south, is breaking up." Nelson (1887) says: 

They wander restlessly along the coast until the ponds open on the marshes 
near the sea, and then, about the last half of May, they are found straying 
singly or in pairs about the marshy ponds, where they seek their summer homes. 
Here they are among the noisiest of the wild fowl. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. II 




Borup Glenn, Greenland. 



D. B. MacMillan. 




Sutherland Island, Greenland. 



D. B. MacMillan. 



Glaucous Gull. 

For description see page 330. 



LIFE HISTORIES OE NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 53 

Grinnell (1900) noted their arrival in Kotzebue Sound May 11, 
1899, when he " discovered 10 sitting close together out in the middle 
of the river ice." Winter was still unbroken at this date, and there 
was no open water in the vicinity " so far as he knew." 

Nesting. — The southernmost breeding grounds of this species are 
in Newfoundland. Here in the summer of 1912 I saw them at sev- 
eral places, where they were probably nesting on the high and 
inaccessible rocky cliffs of the west coast. Other observers have also 
reported them from this region. Mr. J; E. Whitaker, of Grand Lake, 
told me that he had taken the eggs of this species on an island in 
Sandy Lake. While investigating a breeding colony of great black- 
backed gulls on an island in Sandy Lake, on June 23, 1912, I saw a 
pair of glaucous gulls flying overhead. The young of all the gulls 
had hatched at that date and were hidden among the rocks and under- 
brush, so I did not succeed in identifying any young of the glaucous 
gull, but I have no reason to doubt that the pair had nested there, 
perhaps on one of the small rocky islets by themselves. Mr. Edward 
Arnold (1912) reports that " several pairs had their nests built out 
on large bowlders in the center of ponds, but as the water was very 
cold and over our heads in depth we could not examine them." 

On the Labrador coast in 1912 I found the glaucous gull common 
all along the coast from the Straits of Belle Isle northward. I saw 
a large breeding colony on the lofty cliffs of the Kigla-pait range 
between Nam and Okak. The nests were quite inaccessible on the 
narrow ledges of precipitous cliffs facing the sea. On August 2 we 
visited a breeding colony of 30 or 40 pairs of glaucous gulls on a 
rocky islet near Nain. It was a precipitous crag, rising abruptly 
from the sea to a height of 100 or 150 feet, unapproachable in rough 
weather, and an invulnerable castle except at one point, where we 
could land on a rock and climb up a steep grassy slope. Numerous 
black guillemots flew out from the lower crevices, and my companion, 
Mr. Donald B. MacMillan, succeeded in finding a few of their eggs 
still fairly fresh. Eev. Walter W. Perrett, of Nain, had taken a set 
of duck hawk's eggs from the cliffs earlier in the season. The upper 
part of the rock was occupied by the gulls, where their nests were 
mostly on inaccessible ledges. Near the top of the rock, which was 
flat and covered with grass, we found quite a number of nests that we 
could reach, but all of these were empty. Below us we could see nests 
containing young of various ages and one nest still held two eggs. 
Some of the young were nearly ready to fly and probably some had 
already flown. The nests were made of soft grasses and mosses, and 
were not very elaborate or very bulky for such large gulls ; probably 
they had been somewhat trampled down by the young. 



54 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Kumlien (1879) found the glaucous gull breeding abundantly in 
the Cumberland Sound region. He describes one nesting site as " an 
enormous cliff about 1£ miles in length and over 2,000 feet in height, 
and nearly perpendicular. This cliff is about 4 miles from the sea- 
shore to the east-northeast of America Harbor. Many hundreds 
of nests are scattered about on the little projecting shelves of rock, 
and the birds sitting on them look like little bunches of snow still 
unmeited on the cliff. The ascent to this locality is very laborious; 
but the marvelous beauty of the place will well repay any future 
explorer to visit it, for the plants that grow in such rich profusion 
at the base of the cliff, if nothing more." He also says : 

I have examined some nests that were built on the duck islands, always on 
the highest eminence. The structure seemed to have been used and added to 
for many years in succession, probably by the same pair. In shape they were 
pyramid-formed mounds, over 4 feet at the base and about 1 foot at the top, 
and nearly 2\ feet in height. They were composed of every conceivable object 
found in the vicinity, grass, seaweed, moss, lichens, feathers, bones, skin, egg 
shells, etc. 

Regarding the breeding habits of this species in Greenland, Mr. 
J. D. Figgins writes me that on Saunders Island : 

The nest is composed of moss and grass, often of considerable height because 
of the yearly repair, always near the top of the cliffs and never approachable 
from below. The nests are rarely placed other than near rookeries of murres 
and other gulls, where the glaucous gulls prey upon the eggs and young. When 
the gulls make forays upon the murre and kittiwake rookeries, the latter birds 
make no defense whatever and, besides uttering their usual querulous com- 
plaints, offer no resistance, seemingly knowing that it is quite useless. The 
glaucous gulls prefer small young, which their advanced young gulp whole. 
Young in various stages of growth, from newly hatched to those ready to leave 
the nests, were found abundantly on August 15. No eggs were seen at that time. 
Both adults were invariably nearby, screaming protest when the nest was 
approached and following the intruder for considerable distance when leaving. 

On the Arctic coast of Mackenzie, Macfarlane (1908) found some 
20 nests of this species on sandy islets in the bays and rivers : 

The nest was usually a shallow depression in the beach, while in one of them 
we discovered an egg of the black brant which was being incubated by a bird 
of this species. 

Nelson (1887) describes two nests found by him on the Yukon 
delta, as follows : 

On June 4 their first nest was found. It was placed on a small islet, a few 
feet across, in the center of a broad shallow pond. The structure was formed 
of a mass of moss and grass piled up a foot or more high, with a base 3 feet 
across and with a deep central depression lined with dry grass. There was a 
single egg. The female, as she sat on the nest, was visible a mile away, and 
not the slightest opportunity was afforded for concealment on the broad sur- 
rounding flat. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAS' GULLS AND TERNS. 55 

On June 15, near St. Michaels, another nest was found, an equally conspicuous 
structure. Like the majority of their nests found by me, it also was located 
on a small islet in a pond. It was 2 feet high, with a base from 3 to 4 feet long by 
2 wide and measured about 18 inches across the top. In the apex was a de- 
pression about 5 inches deep and 9 inches in diameter. This bulky structure 
was made up of tufts of moss and grass rooted up by the birds' beaks. The 
ground looked as though it had been rooted up by pigs in places near the nest 
and on the outer edge of the pond ; and while I was examining the nest, which 
contained three eggs, one of the old birds came flying up from a considerable 
distance, carrying a large tuft of muddy grass in its beak and dropped it close 
by on seeing me. One of the eggs taken was white, without a trace of the 
usual color marks. While I was securing the eggs the parents swooped down 
close to my head, uttering harsh cries. 

On July 7, 1911, 1 visited Walrus Island, in the Pribilof group in 
Bering 'Sea, where among all the hordes of water fowl that breed in 
this wonderful islet was a nesting colony of glaucous-winged and 
glaucous gulls. Their nests were scattered among the tufts of short, 
coarse grass, which covered the highest and central part of the 
island, where soil had been formed by the accumulation of guano. 
The nests were rather bulky and well made of seaweed and soft 
grasses; a few of them still contained eggs, but nearly all of the 
young had hatched and were hiding in the grass and among the 
rocks. We were not allowed to shoot any birds here and the gulls 
were too shy to enable us to identify any nests, but I am positive 
that both species were breeding here. The glaucous-winged gull 
seems to have been overlooked by some of the others who have visited 
this island, though it may not have been breeding there then. 

Eggs. — As with most gulls, only one brood is raised in a season 
and the set usually consists of three eggs, though two eggs frequently 
complete the set. The eggs are similar to those of other large gulls, 
varying in shape from ovate to elongate ovate. The shell is rather 
coarsely granulated and without luster. The ground color shows the 
usual variations from " buffy brown " to " deep olive buff " or " pale 
olive buff." The eggs are usually not very thickly and more or 
less irregularly spotted with small spots or blotches of various 
shades of the darker browns, such as "bone brown," "bister," or 
" Saccardo's umber " ; also sometimes with lighter browns and often 
with underlying spots of various shades of the lighter drabs and 
lavender grays. The measurements of 56 eggs in the United States 
National Museum average 75.8 by 52.4 millimeters; the eggs showing 
the four extremes measure 85.5 by 50.5, 78 by 57, 70 by 52.5 and 76.5 
by 48 millimeters. 

Young.— Both Turner (1886) and Elliott (1875) give the period of 

incubation as about three weeks, but probably four weeks would be 

more nearly correct ; Evans (1891) gives it as 28 days. Probably both 

sexes incubate, for the pairs keep together at this time, and the male 

174785—21 5 



56 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL, MUSEUM. 

usually stands guard near the nest while the female is incubating. 
The young leave the nest after a few days and become quite lively ; 
they are expert at hiding under whatever shelter they can find, often 
lying flat in some slight hollow with the eyes tightly closed. Kumlien 
(1879) says that he "had an opportunity of seeing how these young 
hopefuls are instructed in egg sucking. The parent carried a duck's 
egg to the nest and broke a hole in it, and the young one just helped 
himself at his leisure. After the young are full-fledged these birds 
are eminently gregarious, and are often seen feeding in considerable 
flocks." The young are voracious feeders and become very fat, when 
they are much esteemed by the natives for food. 

Plumages. — The young chick is covered with long, soft, thick down, 
grayish white above and almost pure white below, tinged with buff on 
the throat and breast. The back is clouded or blotched with " smoke 
gray," and the head and throat are distinctly marked with numerous 
large and small spots of " fuscous black," the number and extent of 
the markings varying in different specimens. Before the young bird 
is half grown the ju venal plumage begins to appear, about the last of 
July, showing first on the wings, scapulars, flanks, and back. 

Doctor D wight (1906) has given us a full and accurate account of 
the molts and plumages of this species. Of the juvenal plumage he 
says : 

August or early September finds birds wholly in the brown barred or mottled 
plumage, of which the flight feathers and the tail are retained for a full year, the 
body plumage and some of the lesser wing coverts being partially renewed at 
two periods of moult, the post juvenal in November or later and the prenuptial 
beginning often as early as, the end of February. 

The first winter plumage only partially supplants the juvenal, 
" chiefly on the back. The overlapping of the post- juvenal and pre- 
nuptial moults obscures the question of whether all young birds pass 
through one or two moults during their first winter, but the evidence 
is in favor of two. Before the time of the prenuptial arrives birds 
have faded out a good deal and are often quite white in appearance, 
with the brown mottling very obscure. The paler of the drab pri- 
maries apparently fade to white in some cases." At the first post- 
nuptial molt in August and early September, when the bird is 14 
or 15 months old, a complete change takes place, producing the 
lighter but still mottled plumage of the second year. There is, how- 
ever, great individual variation in the purity of this plumage, some 
birds still retaining mottled feathers like those of the first year and 
others acquiring advanced signs of maturity. Doctor Dwight (1906) 
says further: 

In a very few birds brown mottled feathers still predominate, although birds 
with fairly developed gray mantles, white tails sprinkled with brown, and 
having pale ecru-drab or white primaries are perhaps the most usual type of 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 12 




Suhvuddy, Greenland. 



D. B. MacMillan. 




Cape Kendrick, Greenland. 



D. B. MacMillan. 



Glaucous Gull. 

Fgr description see page 330. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 57 

plumage. The white heads and bodies are much obscured with smoky gray. 
An extreme is represented by birds absolutely pure white, the " hutchinsii " 
type. The dark bill of the young bird is replaced by a bill which is partially 
yellow. A partial prenuptial moult occurs in April, producing the second 
nuptial plumage, in which some birds, except for wings and tail, are now like 
adults. 

The adult winter plumage is acquired by a complete postnuptial 
molt, in August and September, when the bird is 26 or 27 months 
old. This plumage is characterized by the pure white head and body 
plumage, pale pearl-gray mantle and wings of the same shade, fad- 
ing to white at the tips of the remiges. A few birds still retain 
traces of immaturity, such as an occasional mottled feather or some 
signs of dusky clouding on the head, which disappear at the third 
partial prenuptial molt. In the complete postnuptial molt the 
remiges are shed in pairs, in regular rotation, beginning with the 
inner secondary and ending with the outer primary. 

Food. — The glaucous gull is noted for its ravenous appetite, for 
it is a voracious feeder and is not at all particular about its diet, 
which includes almost any kind of animal food whether fresh or 
carrion. Its fresh food consists of fish or mollusks, which are usually 
stolen from other sea birds, starfish, sea-urchins, surface-swimming 
amphipods and crustaceans, and the eggs and young of other sea 
birds. Yarrell (1871) says that "it feeds also on Cancer pulex and 
araneus; extracts the soft animals from the shells of Venus islandica, 
Pecten islandicus, and searches closely for the lump-sucking fish,. 
Gyelopterus lumpus." That it is not content with devouring the; 
eggs and young of dovekies, murres, and other small sea birds is 
shown by the much quoted statement by Swainson and Eichardson 
(1831) that "one specimen killed on Captain Ross's expedition, dis- 
gorged an auk when it was struck, and proved by dissection to have 
another in its stomach." As a consumer of carrion it is undoubtedly 
useful ; it feeds freely on dead fish or other animal refuse, which it 
finds along the shore, the entrails of fish, which are thrown over- 
board, the carcases of seals and the remains of animals or birds 
killed by hunters. Murdoch (1885) says: 

If a duck be shot so that he fall in the water or any not easily accessible 
place, an hour is generally time enough for him to be reduced to a skeleton by 
the gulls. 

Nuttall (1834) states that they " are said to attend on the walrus to 
feed on its excrement"; also that when "pressed by hunger," they 
sometimes even condescend to share the crow berry with the ptarmi- 
gan. Hagerup (1891) observes that "after the young leave their 
nests in August they gather on the flat tracts along the shore and feed 
on the berries of Empetrum nigrum^ of which they consume a vast 
quantity." 



58 BUIXETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Behavior. — The flight of this gull is not especially different from 
that of dther large gulls, though it is particularly strong and at times 
quite swift, as when chasing the smaller sea birds to rob them of 
their food. The white-tipped wings serve to distinguish it from all 
other gulls except the Iceland gull, from which it differs only in 
size — a very unsatisfactory field mark. Even in young birds the pri- 
maries are much whiter than in other species, so that on the Pacific 
coast the glaucous gull can usually be recognized at short range. 

Its voice is usually loud and harsh, often shrill and penetrating, 
but on its breeding grounds I have heard it utter a variety of soft 
conversational notes after the first excitement was over. Nelson 
(1887) gives us a good description of its notes as follows: 

They have a series of hoarse cries like the syllables ku-ku-ku, ku-lee-oo, 
ku-lee-oo, ku-lee-oo, ku-ku-ku, ku-ku-ku. The syllables ku-ku are uttered in a 
hoarse nasal tone ; the rest, in a shrill, screaming cry, reaching the ear at a 
great distance. These notes are used when quarreling or communicating with 
each other, and when disturbed on their breeding ground. At Unalaska, dur- 
ing May, 1877, I found them about the cliffs on the outer face of the island, and 
they protested vigorously against our presence as they glided back and forth 
overhead or perched on craggy shelves. 

Elliott (1880) says: 

It has a loud, shrill, eaglelike scream, becoming more monotonous by its 
repetition ; and it also utters a low, chattering croak while coasting. 

Turner (1886) observes: 

The note of this bird is variable ; in spring a harsh Kaou, which changes to a 
deep honk, in a few weeks. When flying along the shore a prolonged, grunting 
croak is uttered. 

Chamberlain (1891) gives it as " something like the syllables Kuh- 
lak; I have seen it written cut-leek." 

I quote from Mr. Hersey's notes his observations on the behavior 
of this species near St. Michael : 

The glaucous gull is a bird of marked individuality. Though often solitary, 
when a number do assemble together they are usually rather noisy. A large 
flock has kept close to the ship for several days while we have been anchored 
in the bay and this gave me a good opportunity to study them. Often while 
all were resting quietly on the water one would extend his neck, open his 
mouth to its widest extent, and swim rapidly along, voicing his wild harsh 
notes. Sometimes he would swim in circles while calling, or two birds 
would swim side by side, either in a straight course or circling. At other 
times they would face one another on the water, or when on the wing one 
would rise above the other, the lower bird stretching his neck up and the 
other reaching downward, and both with dangling legs and motionless wings 
cry lustily. At one time while two birds were struggling with a piece of 
food two others sat on the water near by and added their cries to the general 
commotion. Both adult and immature birds do this. 

They are strong swift fliers, and probably pugnacious toward smaller or 
weaker species, but I did not see them molest any other birds, although 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 59 

I often noticed that the Sabine's and short-billed gulls, Pacific kittiwakes and 
jaegers kept at a respectful distance and never attempted to pick up food 
from the water if these gulls were near but left it for them. When no food 
was in sight all the above species rested on the water together in one flock. 
When food was thrown out the glaucous gull was slower in taking wing than 
the others and often lost his share on this account. 

The glaucous gull is decidedly predatory in its habits. Nuttall 
(1834) says: 

They wrest prey from weaker birds, and are often seen hovering in the air 
or seated on some lofty pinnacle of ice, whence, having fixed their eye upon 
some favorite morsel, they dart down on the possessor, which, whether fulmar, 
guillemot, or kittiwake, must instantly resign the prize. The auk, as well as 
the young penguin, they not only rob but often wholly devour. 

Kumlien (1879) gives the following account of how it robs the 
eiders: 

June 4, I saw a few L. glaucus among a large flock of Som. mollissima that 
were diving for food outside the harbor in a small lead in the ice. As soon 
as the duck came to the surface the gull attacked it till it disgorged some- 
thing, which was immediately gobbled up by the gull. The gull picked several 
times at what was disgorged, which leads me to the belief that the food was 
small crustaceans. This piratical mode of living is very characteristic of 
Larus glaucus. 

A similar performance has been noted by Hagerup (1891) in 
Greenland. 

The Eskimos find the breasts of this and other gulls desirable as 
food, the young birds being considered a delicacy, and the eggs are 
very good to eat when fresh. Many an Arctic explorer also has 
found these birds a welcome addition to the food supply. Kumlien 
(1879) thus describes the primitive methods of the Eskimos in cap- 
turing these birds : 

One of the most popular is to build a small snow hut on the ice in a locality 
frequented by the gulls. Some blubber or scraps of meat are exposed to view 
on the top and seldom fails to induce the bird to alight on the roof of the 
structure. This is so thin that the Eskimo on the inside can readily see the 
bird through the snow and, with a quick grab, will break through the «now 
and catch the bird by the legs. Some use a spear, thrusting it violently through 
tbe roof of the hut. Many are killed by exposing pieces of blubber among the 
hummocky ice and lying concealed within proper distance for bow and arrow 
practice. 

Murdock (1885) tells us of another method practiced at Point 
Barrow : 

They are a favorite bird with the natives, and many are shot in the autumn 
as they fly up and down the shore. They are also occasionally caught with a 
baited line in the autumn when there is a light snow on the beach. A little 
stick of hardwood, about 4 inches long and sharpened at both ends, has attached 
to its middle a strong line of deer sinew. The stick is carefully wrapped in 



60 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

blubber or meat and exposed on the beach, while the short line is securely 
fastened to a stake driven into the sand and carefully concealed in the snow. 
The gull picks up the tempting morsel and swallows it and, of course, is caught 
by the stick, which turns sidewise across his gullet, and his struggles to 
escape fix it more firmly. 

Winter. — Although some individuals, principally young birds, re- 
main as far north as Greenland in winter, the great majority of 
these gulls migrate southward when the sea ice freezes, and their 
feeding grounds are covered with ice and snow, but winter must 
be well upon us before we need look for them on the New England 
coast. They are always rare here and find the southern limit of 
their normal winter range about Long Island. When on our coasts 
they may be seen among the flocks of herring gulls which frequent 
our harbors and beaches, acting as scavengers, intent only on finding 
a good food supply. Mcll wraith (1894) says: 

During the winter months the " burgomaster," as this species is usually 
named, may be seen roaming around the shores of Lake Ontario, seeking what 
it may devour, and it is not very scrupulous either as regards quantity or 
quality. 

On the Pacific coast it winters as far south as Monterey, asso- 
ciating with the common winter gulls of that region. 

Many years ago Mr. Ridgway (1886) described the glaucous gulls 
of the coasts of Alaska and adjacent waters as a new species under 
the name Larus barrovicmus, the size and the shape of the bill being 
the chief distinguishing character. Twenty years later Doctor 
D wight (1906) argued that this species was untenable, and it was 
removed from the check list. Recently, however, Dr. H. C. Ober- 
holser (1918) has resurrected barrovianus, as a subspecies of hyper- 
boreus, on the claim that the Alaska bird is smaller and has a 
darker mantle than the birds from Greenland or from Europe. 
Whether this claim is well founded or not, it is apparently a fact 
that the characters he ascribes to the Alaska bird hold true in a 
large majority of the specimens, though there are some exceptions 
to the rule. Doctor Dwight, however, still maintains that the pro- 
posed race is unworthy of recognition in nomenclature. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Circumpolar, including practically all the Arctic 
coasts and islands of both hemispheres. In North America south to 
eastern Labrador (Cape Harrison), Newfoundland (west coast and 
in the interior) , James Bay (east side), northern Hudson Bay (Cape 
Fullerton) , Arctic coast of Canada and Alaska, Bering Sea coast of 
Alaska (south to the Kuskoquim River) and Pribilof Islands (Wal- 



LITE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GUIxLS AND TERNS. 61 

rus Island). North on all the Arctic islands and northern Greenland 
to at least latitude 82° 34' North. In the eastern hemisphere from 
Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla eastward to northeastern Siberia and 
Wrangel Island. South to Iceland, Arctic coasts of Europe and Asia 
and to Kamchatka. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservations 
in Alaska: Bering Sea, St. Matthew Island; Pribilofs, Walrus 
Island. 

Winter Range. — In North America south along the coast fairly 
regularly to Massachusetts and Long Island and casually farther 
south. In the interior rarely to the Great Lakes (Lakes Ontario and 
Michigan). And on the Pacific coasts south to central California 
(Monterey) and Japan, rarely to the Hawaiian Islands. In Europe 
south to the Azores and the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas. 
North to limits of open water. 

Spring migration. — Early dates of arrival: Southern Greenland, 
March 20; northeastern Greenland, latitude 80° 20' North, June 9; 
Baffin Land, Kingwah Fiord, April 20 ; Fort Conger, May 14 ; King 
Oscar Land, May 27 ; Prince Albert Land, May 31 ; Winter Harbor, 
June 3 ; Wellington Channel, May 16 ; Alaska, Yukon Delta, May 13 ; 
Kowak River, May 11; Point Barrow, May 11; and Demarcation 
Point, May 14. Late dates of departure: Long Island, Rockaway, 
May 1; Massachusetts, Rockport, April 24; Maine, Portland, April 
27 ; Quebec, Godbout, April 29 ; California, Monterey, May 4 ; Wash- 
ington, Tacoma, May 2. 

Fall migration. — Early dates of arrival : Massachusetts, Cambridge, 
November 29 ; Long Island, Orient, November 30 ; California, Monte- 
rey, November 6. Late dates of departure: Ellesmere Land, Cape 
Union, September 1; Greenland, Thank God Harbor, September 3, 
and Bowdoin Bay, October 17 ; Mackenzie River, October 9 ; Alaska, 
Point Barrow, November 1 ; Kotzebue Sound, October 13 ; Unalaska, 
November 12; Diomede Islands, December 7; Pribilof Islands, De- 
cember 13. 

Casual records. — Wanders in winter along Atlantic coast to North 
Carolina (Cape Lookout, Carteret County, March 30 or 31, 1895), 
and to Bermuda (April 28, 1901). Accidental at many places in 
the interior, westward to Wisconsin (Milwaukee, January 8, 12, and 
14, 1895) , and southward to Texas (Clay County, December 17, 1880) . 

Egg dates. — Canadian Arctic coast: Twenty records, June 10 to 
July 8; ten records, June 25 to July 5. Northern Alaska: Eleven 
records, May 26 to June 28 ; six records, May 30 to June 12. Green- 
land: Nine records, May 26 to July 2; five records, June 7 to 14. 
Iceland: Ten records, May 12 to June 21; five records, June 1 to 10. 
Newfoundland: Three records, June 3, 5, and 8. 



62 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

LARUS LEUCOPTERUS Faber. 
ICELAND GULL. 

HABITS. 

Contributed by Charles Wendell Toionsend. 

The Iceland gull is a smaller edition of the glaucous gull, which 
it resembles closely in appearance and habits. Like its larger rela- 
tive it breeds in the Arctic regions in Victoria Land, Boothia Penin- 
sula, Greenland, Iceland, and east to Nova Zembla. It winters 
wherever there is open water in its range and south to Long Island 
and the British Isles. In the interior it is rare. Rather more arctic 
in its distribution than the glaucous gull, it seldom comes as far 
south in winter. 

Nesting, — The Iceland gull nests in communities by itself and 
with other species of gulls both on high rocky cliffs and on low, 
sandy shores. Ross (1835) found it breeding on the faces of preci- 
pices on the shores of Prince Regent's Inlet with the glaucous gull, 
"but at a much less height and in greater numbers." Hagerup 
(1891) at Ivigtut in Greenland says: 

• About a thousand pair nest on the "bird cliff," above the kittiwakes. The 
lowest nests are built at a height of about 200 feet; the highest at about 500 
feet above sea level. In 1888 a single pair hatched their young away from 
the rest on the face of the cliff, close by the edge of the ice, and at the height 
of 40 feet. Two pair raised their young during the three summers I was in 
Greenland on a cliff which was formerly the home of numerous kittiwakes. 
One of these nests was at the height of 15 feet, the other 100 feet above sea 
level. 

He writes that the birds arrive in March and often lay their eggs 
while the fiord below is still covered with ice. The earliest young 
leave their nests at the close of July. 

The nest is rather a bulky affair, made up of mosses and grasses. 
One set of eggs is laid, either two or three in number. 

Eggs. — The eggs are of a clay color with numerous chocolate- 
colored markings. They are exactly like those of hyperboreus, but 
smaller. The measurements of 54 eggs, in various collections, aver- 
age 68 by 48 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes meas- 
ure 75.5 by 49.5, 72.5 by 51, 62.5 and 49.6, and 65.7 by 44.7 milli- 
meters. 

Plumages. — The downy young are dingy white, with brownish - 
gray spots above, especially about the head. In July and August 
they are feathered out in the juvenal plumage, which is white, more 
or less barred and mottled above with black and brown. Below they 
are gray with indistinct cloudings. Dwight (1906) says of this 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 63 

stage that " the primaries more frequently have white or brownish 
shafts, untingecl with the yellow, so prominent in glaucus." Kum- 
lein (1879) says that the first plumage of the young is darker than 
that of the yearling bird, while the opposite is the case in glaucus, 
According to Dwight (1906), "the sequence of molts and plumage 
is precisely the same as in the larger glaucus, of which it is a small 
edition. There is, however, no overlapping of dimensions, for even 
the largest male fails to reach the size of the smallest female glaucus." 
The first winter plumage resembles the juvenal, and is acquired by 
a partial postjuvenal molt. In this plumage the bird looks white, 
but rather soiled and buffy or coffee-stained in places. There is 
considerable variation, and in some individuals the mottling is quite 
dark. After the first postnuptial molt the bird loses much of its 
mottling and becomes nearly white, the candidus and glacialis of 
early writers corresponding to the hutchinsii of the glaucous gull. 
Dwight says that " second-year birds more often have adult mantles 
than do second-year glaucus, but the creamy or pinkish drab, or 
white primaries and brown mottled feathers in wings of tail, betray 
their age." The full adult plumage is assumed in the third winter, 
and is characterized by a pearl-gray mantle and pure white color 
of head, breast, tail, and the tips of all of the wing feathers. The 
bill is yellow. According to Dwight the color of the mantle is some- 
what darker than that of glaucus. This stage is rarely seen on the 
New England coast, although full adults of the glaucous gull are 
not uncommon. 

The recognition of a white-winged gull in the field is not difficult. 
The general whiteness of the birds as compared with herring gulls, 
for example, makes them conspicuous. In all cases where the diag- 
nosis is suspected it is necessary to examine carefully the wing tips 
with the glasses before one can speak with certainty. The entire 
absence of dark markings on the wing tips at once settles the general 
diagnosis, but it is often extremely difficult to differentiate between 
the glaucous gull and the present species. Particularly is this the 
case if a white-winged gull is seen alone or with others of the same 
species. Size in absence of other objects for comparison is very 
deceptive. In company with the glaucous or the herring gull, the 
Iceland gull is seen to be a little smaller. The glaucous gull is not 
only larger than the Iceland gull, but is also larger than the herring 
gull ; but here again appearances without careful comparison are apt 
to be deceptive. In fact, size alone is of little value, for a large male 
Iceland gull may nearly equal in size a small female glaucous gull. 
The size of the head, neck, and bill are, however, important field 
marks, for these are noticeably smaller in proportion to the size of 
the bird in the Iceland gull than in the glaucous gull. 



64 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Food. — The feeding habits of the Iceland gull are similar to those 
of the glaucous and herring gulls. They are ever on the alert to pick 
up dead fish, Crustacea, or other edible substance from the surface 
of the water and from the beaches. About Eskimo encampments 
seal and fish refuse are eagerly sought. Hagerup (1891) states that 
in Greenland the young feed on the berries of Empetrum nigrum. 
He also says: 

For a while after leaving the nests they are accompanied by one of the 
parents, or by both, and these give warning in a wise and unmistakable manner : 
" Don't go near those treacherous boats," they seem to cry. Later on the young 
mingle with the young of the glaucous gull, but not with young kittiwakes. In 
voice and habits the young birds quite resemble young glaucous gulls. 

Behavior. — Like other gulls and terns the Iceland gull is some- 
times of value to man in indicating the presence of fish. Baird, 
Brewer, and Eidgway (1884) quote from Faber a statement that in 
1821 " on the 1st of March the shore was full of sea gulls ; but early 
on the 2d the air was filled with numbers of this species which had 
arrived during the night. The Icelanders concluded from the sud- 
den appearance of the birds that shoals of codfish must have arrived 
on the coast, and it was soon found that this conjecture was correct." 
He adds that these gulls " would indicate to the seal shooters in the 
fiord where the seals were to be looked for, by following their track 
to the sea and hovering over them in flocks with incessant cries." 
In both cases it is probable that the larger creatures stirred up the 
water so that the smaller food of the gulls could be obtained. In 
the same way flocks of terns follow whales, not with any expecta- 
tions of feeding on the whale, but on the smaller marine life stirred 
up by the whale and on which both feed. 

Winter. — Iceland gulls, as well as glaucous and Kumlien gulls, 
visit the New England seacoast more in some than in other winters, 
dependent, no doubt, on the amount of open water and on the suffi- 
cient or insufficient food supply in the north. In the winter of 1907 
and 1908 we were favored with an unusually large number of these 
northern birds in the vicinity of Boston. F. H. Allen (1908) re- 
ported one or two Iceland gulls in immature plumage in Charles 
River Basin and in Boston Harbor, at least three at Swampscott, 
and one at Lynn and Marblehead. 

DISTRIBUTION, 

Breeding range. — Portions of the Arctic regions; from Victoria 
Land (Cambridge Bay), Boothia Peninsula, and west-central Green- 
land east probably to Nova Zembla ; southern limits not well defined. 
Said to breed in Hudson Bay. Mackenzie Bay and other western 
records are not well established and should be discredited. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 13 




Walrus Island, Alaska. 



A. C. Bent. 




Bogoslof Island, Alaska. 



Glaucous-Winged Gull. 



For description see page 330. 



A. C. Bent. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 65 

Winter range. — From the northern limits of open water in southern 
Greenland south along the Labrador coast to the Bay of Fundy and 
Maine, more rarely Massachusetts and Long Island. Occasionally on 
the Great Lakes as far west as Michigan (Sault Sainte Marie). Re- 
corded off North Carolina (Cape Hatteras). In Europe from Ice- 
land, the northern British Isles, and Scandinavia south; rarely to 
northern France and the Baltic Sea. 

Spring migration. — Early dates of arrival : Ellesmere Land, Fort 
Conger, May 19 to June 5 ; northeastern Greenland, June 20. Late 
dates of departure: New York, Rochester, April 14; Maine, Port- 
land, April 27, and Richmonds Island, May 20; Ontario, Port Sid- 
ney, April 6 ; Quebec, Godbout, May 1. 

Fall migration. — Early dates of arrival: Massachusetts, Boston, 
November 4 ; New York, Lansingburg, November 21. Late dates of 
departure: Northeastern Greenland, September 25 to 30; Gulf of 
Cumberland, September 6. 

Casual records. — Accidental in Maryland (Baltimore, November 
23, 1893) and at various places in the interior, as far west as Nebraska 
(Dorchester, January 15, 1907). Two specimens taken at Point 
Barrow, Alaska, August 4 and September 19, 1882. 

Egg dates. — Iceland : Eleven records, May to July 2 ; six records, 
June 6 to 28. Greenland: Nine records, May 29 to July 1; five 
records, June 10 to 20. 

LARUS GLAUCESCENS Nanmann. 
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL. 

HABITS. 

This, the most abundant, the most widely distributed, and the 
characteristic gull of the north Pacific coast, is an omnipresent and 
familiar sight to the travelers along the picturesque coast and 
through the numerous inside passages leading to Alaska. From the 
coast of Oregon southward it is replaced by the dark-mantled west- 
ern gull during the breeding season, and in Bering Sea it mingles 
with the large white Arctic species, the glaucous gull, by which it 
is replaced northward. During the latter part of April, in 1911, we 
first became familiar with the glaucous-winged gull in Puget Sound, 
where it was very abundant, feeding with the herring gull in large 
numbers about the harbors. As we steamed northward in May 
through various channels and sounds to Ketchikan, Alaska, the 
grand and picturesque scenery of those inside passages was enlivened 
and made more attractive by the constant presence of these gulls 
following the ship, drifting northward to their breeding grounds, 
or merely wandering in search of food. At Ketchikan they were 



66 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

particularly abundant in a great variety of plumages of different 
ages. But when we passed through Dixon Entrance and out into 
the Pacific Ocean we left the gulls behind, as the land faded away 
from sight, and when 50 or 100 miles from land they had been re- 
placed by the more pelagic fulmars and albatrosses. We did not 
see them again until we came within sight of the Aleutian Islands, 
and from that time on they were always with us throughout the 
whole length of the Aleutian chain. 

Spring. — As this gull is practically resident, or, at least, always 
briefly a few typical breeding colonies in different localities, 
present throughout all but the extreme northern portions of its 
breeding range, it is difficult to tell just when it arrived on its breed- 
ing grounds ; but it usually begins to frequent or to resent intrusion 
upon its nesting grounds at least a fortnight before egg laying 
begins, the dates varying greatly in the different latitudes. To illus- 
trate the wide variations in its nesting habits I propose to describe 

Nesting. — The largest and most interesting colonies of the glaucous- 
winged gull, in the southern part of its range, are among the spec- 
tacular sea-bird colonies On the rocky islands set apart as reserva- 
tions off the coast of Washington, and divided into three groups, 
known as the Copalis Rock Reservation, the Quillayute Needle Res- 
ervation, and the Flattery Rocks Reservation. Mr. W. Leon Daw- 
son (1908a) and Prof. Lynds Jones visited the various islands in 
these groups in 1905 and 1907, and made careful estimates of the 
numbers and kinds of birds found breeding there. The full report is 
well worth reading to gain a fair impression of what these wonder- 
ful reservations contain, but I shall confine my quotations to a few 
striking facts taken from it. Only two pairs of glaucous-winged 
gulls were found nesting on Destruction Island, which seems to be 
the southern limit of its breeding range. Thence northward, colo- 
nies of this species became more frequent and increased in size. The 
largest colony was found on Wishalooth Island, from 2,000 to 3,000 
glaucous-winged gulls, 100 to 500 western gulls, 1,000 tufted puffins, 
5,000 to 15,000 Kaeding's petrels, and 100 Baird's cormorants. This 
is an island of about 20 acres, three-quarters of a mile offshore in 
the Quillayute Needles Reservation. It is " a lofty jagged ridge of 
metamorphic conglomerate with sharply sloping sides covered with 
guano ledges and resulting areas of shallow earth, which are clothed 
with grass and other vegetation — yarrow, painted cup, and the like ; 
175 feet high ; 200 yards long along the crest." Carroll Islet, " the 
gem of the Olympiades," as Mr. Dawson calls it, contained the fol- 
lowing wonderful colonies of breeding water birds: Five thousand 
tufted puffins, 1,000 Cassin's auklets, 20 pigeon guillemots, 700 Cali- 
fornia murres, 1,000 glaucous- winged gulls, 50 western gulls, 500 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 14 



H?^ «-'"*. 


<fetf'" ^^^^ 


Hj 




I ^>^* 


i^BHi 




'"'■;-. ... ., j» . _ * .\f»; : v 


^^H 


^ "■" ------ — 


UlSH 



Flattery Rocks, Washington. 



W. L. Dawson. 




Carroll Islet, Washington. 



W. L. Dawson. 



Glaucous-Winged Gull. 

For description see page 330. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 67 

Kaeding petrels, 100 white- crested cormorants, and 500 Baird's cor- 
morants. Professor Jones (1908) has well described it, as follows: 

Seaward Carroll Islet presents a rock precipice some 200 feet in height. A 
stone dropped from the top, within 2 rods of our camp, would fall clear into the 
ocean below. Landward the islet slopes at first gently, but finally at an angle of 
nearly 70° to within 30 feet of the water, ending in another precipice there. It 
was only along the landward side that ascent was possible, and even there one 
must clamber up vertically for 10 or more feet, finding foothold in the weathered 
rock. Two sharp rock ridges jut out, one at the northeast corner, the other 
landward easterly. The gentler slope of the top is covered with Sitka spruce 
trees, two of them old monarchs, with a few deciduous trees, growths of elder 
bushes, a sort of red raspberry bush, and the ever-present salal bushes. Border- 
ing on the steeper slopes there is a growth of grass clinging to masses of soil 
which has lodged in the interstices between rock chips. In some places this 
grass is seen clinging to shelves on the face of precipices. Exposed rock faces 
are pitted and hollowed by the elements into nesting places for cormorants and 
gulls. Other rock masses, a good deal worn down, project from the other angles 
of the island. The waves have worn a hole completely through the island par- 
allel to the landward side and about a hundred feet from it. Practically the 
entire island was covered by the nests of this species, except the area covered 
by the taller trees, and also a relatively small area on the steep slope of the 
northeastward side. 

By covered is meant that there were nests in all sorts of situations and within 
reasonable distance of each other, but never within striking distance of the 
birds occupying adjoining nests. A number of nests were found beneath the 
dense fringe of salal bushes, and many of the larger grottoes of the perpendicu- 
lar rock faces contained a nest. Ledges, which were broad enough to afford us 
secure footing, were also occupied by nests. Often nests could be seen on small 
niches in the rocks. There was one nest on the murre ledge fully exposed on the 
bare rock. Many of the more exposed nests showed unmistakable signs of 
having been pilfered by crows. 

Professor Jones noticed that all of the gulls which were nesting 
under the bushes were old birds with pure white heads, while many 
of those nesting in the open showed signs of immaturity. The nests 
were also better made than those in the open. 

We found this species nesting under somewhat different condi- 
tions in the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands, where it was decidedly 
the commonest large gull and universally distributed. On Bogoslof 
Island on July 4. 1911, we found a colony of between 100 and 200 
pairs of glaucous-winged gulls nesting on the flat sandy portions 
of the famous old volcano. The steep, rocky pinnacles in the center 
of the island were densely populated by countless thousands of 
Pallas's murres. Recent eruptions had thrown up so much volcanic 
dust, ashes, and sand that extensive sand dunes and flat sandy plains 
had been formed all around the island, which was entirely bare of 
shelter and devoid of vegetation. The nests of the glaucous-winged 
gulls were widely scattered over this area, no two being anywhere 
near together. They were well made of seaweed, rockweed, kelp, 



68 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

and straws, and were sometimes decorated with feathers or fish 
bones; some of the nesting material must have been carried a long 
distance, for the nearest land on which any grass was growing was 
many miles away. Many of the eggs were pipped and there were 
quite a number of downy young running about, but a few of the 
eggs were only slightly incubated. The nesting grounds of the 
gulls were closely adjacent to a large breeding rookery of S teller's 
sea lions (Eumetopias stelleri), with which they seemed to be on 
friendly terms. 

A few days later we landed on Walrus Island, the most wonderful 
bird island in North America. Here we found a breeding colony of 
this species mixed with glaucous gulls on the highest part of the 
island, where the accumulations of guano had formed a rich soil, 
supporting a luxuriant growth of grass. Other portions of the little 
island, which I have described more fully in the history of the red- 
faced cormorant, contained, in close proximity to the gulls, the most 
densely populated colonies I have ever seen of California and Pallas's 
murres, tufted puffin, paroquet, crested and least auklets, Pacific kit- 
tiwakes, and red-faced cormorants. At the time of our visit (July 7, 
1911) most of the gulls' eggs had hatched, but a few eggs were still 
to be seen in the nests among the tufts of grass. Mr. William Palmer 
(1899) says of the nests on these islands: 

On Walrus Island the nests are quite numerous. On June 13 many con- 
tained three eggs well incubated; some had two fresh eggs, while a few had 
one or two young and an egg or two. Larger young were picked up on the 
rocks near the nests. The nests are well made, clean, and are generally com- 
posed of dead grass stems, which the birds bring from St. Paul. While most 
were placed on the fiat rock, a few were in depressions of the sand which filled 
some of the larger crevices of the rocks. 

Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) says: 

The usual nesting places of this species are the faces of rugged cliffs, at 
whose base the waves are continually breaking and the coast exposes its wildest 
and most broken outline. 

He seems to think that instances of these gulls nesting in other sit- 
uations are exceptional. They nest on the steep, rocky cliffs of St. 
George Island and in similar situations elsewhere, but they also nest 
frequently on the flat, grassy tops of many small islands, and are 
found on the sandy plains of Bogoslof Island. We never found them 
nesting on the larger islands in the Aleutian chain, where they might 
be disturbed by foxes. On June 19, 1911, I saw a large number of 
glaucous-winged gulls frequenting a high grassy plain on Kiska 
Island and acting as if they were breeding in the vicinity, but I could 
not find any nests. 

Eggs. — The glaucous- winged gull normally lays three eggs, though 
frequently two constitute a full set; four eggs are very rarely, if 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 69 

ever, laid by one bird. Only one brood is raised in a season. The 
eggs are not distinguishable from those of other species of gulls of 
similar size. The prevailing shape is ovate, with variations toward 
short ovate on one hand and elliptical ovate on the other. The shell 
is thin and finely granulated, with only a dull luster. The ground 
color shows various shades of buff, " olive buff," and pale olive. The 
eggs are spotted, generally uniformly over the entire surface, with 
small spots or occasional larger blotches of " wood brown," ■?' raw 
umber," " burnt umber," or " seal brown," and with underlying spots 
of " lilac gray." The measurements of 47 eggs in the United States 
National Museum average 72.8 by 50.8 millimeters ; the eggs show- 
ing the four extremes measure 82 by 51.5, 73.5 by 55, 66 by 47.5 and 
70.5 by 46.5 millimeters. 

Young. — Mr. George Willett (1912) noted the following incident 
in the education of the young : 

I was considerably interested in observing the swimming lessons given the 
nearly grown young by the adult birds. In some cases, where the young seemed 
afraid to take to the water, they were shoved from the rocks by the old birds. 
The old bird would then swim beside the young one, occasionally poking it with 
her bill. I was unable to satisfy myself whether this was meant as a caress or 
as punishment for poor swimming. 

Plumages. — The period of incubation does not seem to be definitely 
known. The downy young is " drab gray " above, variegated with 
" avellaneous," and a paler shade of the same color below, fading to 
" tilleul buff " on the center of the breast. It is heavily spotted on 
the back with " fuscous black " and on the head and throat with pure 
black. The young birds somewhat resemble those of the western 
gull, but the latter has more of the buffy shades and less of the gray ; 
and the markings on the back are not quite so heavy. Perhaps in 
large series they might intergrade. 

Dr. Jonathan D wight (1906) has fully described the sequence of 
plumages in this species as follows : 

The juvenal plumage is deep plumbeous gray with broad dark barring or 
mottling and obscure whitish edgings. The tail is nearly solidly gray, sprinkled 
basally with white, and the flight feathers, including the quills, are also dark 
gray. Birds in this plumage are never so pale (especially the primaries) as 
the darkest leucopterus, nor are they ever so dark as the palest of the black- 
primaried species. They fade to a decidedly brown shade, almost mouse gray, 
but their color (especially that of the primaries) and the size of their bills, 
even when young birds, are cardinal points by which to recognize them. The 
first winter plumage is like the juvenal, but at the prenuptial molt white 
about the head and body and gray on the back begins to appear in some speci- 
mens, thus marking the first nuptial plumage. In the second winter plumage 
unpatterned drab or mouse-gray primaries are most frequent, together with 
the gray mantle of the adult. The white head and neck, as in the other species, 
are much clouded with dusky markings, which are lost at the next prenuptial 



70 BULLETIN US, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

molt I do not think that primaries with the apical white spots of the adult 
bird are ever developed until a year later, but in some birds there is a fore- 
shadowing of the white spots on the first primary. The third winter plumage, 
that of the adult, is the result of the second post-nuptial molt, after which 
very few birds can be found showing traces of immaturity. The new primaries 
are slaty, and white tipped, the first and sometimes the second with subapical 
or sometimes terminal white " mirrors," quite unlike the unpatterned feathers 
of glaucus or the smaller leucopterus. The mantle varies from cinereous to 
plumbeous gray, the color running over into the primaries, which become de- 
cidedly slaty toward their apices. The white of the head and neck is still 
clouded, the dusky markings being characteristic of winter plumages until the 
birds are quite advanced in age. At prenuptial molts, as in the other species, 
these feathers are replaced by white ones. 

Food. — These, like other large gulls, are useful scavengers all along 
the coast and are practically omnivorous. They were constantly fol- 
lowing our ship in search of small scraps that might be picked up, 
and, while we were at anchor at Ketchikan and TJnalaska, they were 
especially numerous and always in sight, eagerly waiting for the 
garbage to be thrown overboard. They are abundant, in winter, in 
the harbors of nearly all the large cities on the Pacific coast as far 
south as southern California, where they feed largely on refuse and 
seem to fill the place occupied by the herring gull on the Atlantic coast. 
They are particularly numerous about the garbage heaps which are 
dumped on the shore to be washed away by the advancing tides. In 
such places they appear to realize that they are protected and are 
very tame. In their eagerness to secure the choice morsels of food 
they seem to forget all about the presence of human beings, even 
within a few feet. At other times it is difficult for a man to walk 
up within gunshot distance of them. They become much excited 
and clamorous in their scramble for food, competing at close quar- 
ters with other species of gulls, with dogs, and with the lazy Indians. 
They are none too particular in their choice of food and will eat 
almost anything that is edible. 

During the summer they frequent the vicinity of the salmon can- 
neries, where they gorge themselves on the refuse from the factories 
or fishing vessels and on the bodies of dead salmon along the shores. 
As a result they become very fat. On the Pribilof Islands they 
regularly visit the killing grounds to feast on the entrails and other 
waste portions of the slaughtered seals, which furnish an abundant 
food supply. Among the Aleutian Islands, where sea urchins are 
abundant, we found numerous broken shells of these creatures on the 
rocky heights frequented by the gulls. Evidently they had been 
dropped on the rocks to break the shells. In the colonies, where they 
were nesting with other species, we saw no evidence to prove that they 
feed on the eggs or young of their neighbors, though they may, 
perhaps, do so occasionally. On Walrus Island we kept some of the 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 71 

murres and cormorants off their nests for several hours without 
any apparent damage from the gulls. 

Behavior. — The flight of the glaucous-winged gull is buoyant, 
graceful, and pleasing, and its plumage is always spotlessly clean 
and neat. A gull in flight is one of nature's most beautiful creatures 
and one of its triumphs in the mastery of the air. It was a never- 
ending source of delight to watch these graceful birds following the 
ship at full speed without the slightest effort, dropping astern to 
pick up some fallen morsel or forging ahead at will, as if merely 
playing with their powers of flight. Sometimes the same individual 
could be recognized day after day by some peculiarity of marking. 
They seem thoroughly at ease on the wing. Several times I saw one 
scratch its head with its foot, as it sailed along on set wings, without 
slackening its pace at all. When traveling against a strong head 
wind I have seen one sail along for miles without moving its wings, 
except to adjust slightly the angle at which they were held, keeping 
alongside the ship, forging ahead, or dropping astern, as it wished, 
and rising or falling to suit its fancy. When left far astern to pick 
up food off the water it would give a few flaps when rising, set its 
wings, and soon catch up with the ship. This power to sail almost 
directly into the teeth of a strong wind has caused much discussion, 
as it has been noted in the herring gull and other species. Various 
theories have been advanced to account for it, all of which are more 
or less unsatisfactory. To my mind it is simple enough to under- 
stand if we can realize that a gull is a highly specialized, almost 
perfect sailing vessel, endowed with instinctive skill in navigating 
the air to use the forces at its command to advantage. With a clear 
knowledge of the forces at work when a ship sails, close hauled, 
to within a few points of the wind, we can imagine the gull sailing 
along a vertical plane, in which the force of gravity replaces the 
resistance of the water against the keel and the wind acts against 
the gull's wings as it does on the sails of the ship ; the resultant of 
these two forces is a forward movement, which the gull controls by 
adjusting its center of gravity and the angle of its wings. 

It is evident from the foregoing accounts that the glaucous - 
winged gull is decidedly a sociable species on its breeding grounds 
where it seems to nest in perfect harmony with its neighbors in 
close quarters. It also associates on migrations and during the winter 
with various other species of gulls, with all of which it seems to 
be on good terms. The adults can readily be distinguished from 
the white-winged species or from those having black-tipped wings 
by the peculiar color pattern of the primaries. Birds in immature 
plumage are not so easily recognized, but a careful study of the 
descriptions given in the manuals will help to identify them. They 
are not likely to be confused with the dark-mantled western gull, 

174785—21 6 



72 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

but Mr. Dawson's (1908) reference to the large number of 
" mulattoes " on Carroll Islet suggests the possibility that these 
two species may hybridize. 

Mr. Dawson (1909), who spent a week studying the vocal per- 
formances of this species and their significance, has thus classified 
its various notes : 

1. The beak-quaking notes — Harsh, unmusical, and of moderate pitch, used 
to express distrust and continued disapproval. During the delivery the 
mandibles are brought together three or four times in moderate succession. 
This is the ordinary scolding or distress cry of characteristic and uniform 
pitch, save that it is raised to a higher key when the speaker becomes 
vehement. The phrase varies from three to five notes, and is uttered in the 
following cadences: kak-ako: ka ka, ka ka; ka ka kaka; kaka; JcaJca, 
ka kakak; kak-a kak-a-ka. 

2. Kaivk. — A note of inquiry or mere communication ; has many modifications 
and varies from a short trumpet note to the succeeding. 

3. Klook. — A sepulchral note of uniform interest but uncertain meaning. 

4. The trumpet notes, long or short, single or in prolonged succession, high- 
pitched, musical, and far-sounding. During delivery the head is thrust for- 
ward, the neck arched, and the throat and mandibles opened to their fullest 
capacity. These are* pleasure notes and are used especially on social occasions, 
when many birds are about, keer, keer, keer, keer. 

5. A(n)k, a(n)k, a(n)k, a(n)k, a(n)k, a(n)k. — Minor trumpet notes of regu- 
lar length andl succession, used in expostulation or social excitement; frequent 
and varied. 

6. Klook, klook, klook. — In quality a combination of kawk and the trumpet 
tones, uttered deliberately and without much show of energy. Used chiefly in 
domestic conversation of uncertain import. 

7. Oree-eh, oree-eh, oree-eh, an an an. — An expression of greeting as when 
uttered by a sitting bird welcoming one about to alight. The notes of the first 
series are trumpet tones, in which the second syllable of each member is raised 
to a higher pitch, while the voice is dropped again on the third. The second 
series is lower and more trivial, but still enthusiastic, as though congratulatory 
to the guest arrived. 

8. Ko. — Shouted once, or thrice repeated, in quelling a clamor. " Hist ! Hist ! 
You're making too much noise ; he's watching us." 

9. Arahh. — A slow and mournful trumpeting, usually uttered awing, to ex- 
press anxiety or grief, as at the loss of a chick. 

10. Oo anh, oo anh. — Repeated indefinitely. Notes of coaxing and endear- 
ment usually addressed to children, but occasionally to wedded mates. The 
cooing of doves does not express so much adulation or idolatrous devotion as 
the gull throws into these most domestic tones. 

Winter. — When winter, with its snow and ice, drives the glaucous- 
winged gull from the northern portion of its breeding range, there 
is a general movement southward; but the migration is more in 
evidence along the California coast, where this species spends the 
winter in large numbers, frequenting the harbors in company with 
glaucous, herring, California, western, and short-billed gulls. It 
winters commonly as far north as the Aleutian Islands, where it can 
always find open water. 



LIFE HISTOEIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 73 
DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Coasts and islands of the North Pacific Ocean 
and Bering Sea, from St. Lawrence Island and the Pribilof Islands 
southward to southern Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington 
to Destruction Island ; westward throughout the Aleutian and Com- 
mander Islands ; northward to Kamchatka and northeastern Siberia 
(Providence Bay). Occurs rarely in summer in northern Bering 
Sea (St. Michael and Port Clarence), but probably does not breed 
there. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reserva- 
tions: In Alaska, Aleutian Islands, as Adak, Atka, Attu, Kiska, 
Tanaga, and Unalaska ; Bogoslof ; St. Lazaria ; Forrester Island ; in 
Washington, Flattery Kocks and Quillayute Needles, as Alexander 
Island, Carroll Islet, and Destruction Island. 

Winter range. — From the Aleutian Islands, Kodiak, and southern 
Alaskan coast southward to lower California (San Geronimo and 
Guadalupe Islands), and from the Commander Islands to Japan 
(Hakodadi). Birds remains late at the Pribilof Islands, but prob- 
ably rarely, if ever, stay throughout the entire winter. 

Spring migration. — Northward along the coast. Late dates of 
departure : Lower California, San Geronimo Island, March 10 to 15, 
and Guadalupe Island, March 22; California, Santa Cruz Island, 
May 2, and Monterey, May 10. 

Fall migration. — Southward along the coast. First arrivals reach 
California, Monterey, October 25 to 30. 

Casual records. — Rare visitor to Hawaii (taken December 9, 1902) . 
Rare straggler north of Bering Strait; taken in Kotzebue Sound 
May 11, 1899, on Wrangel Island April 3, 1916, and at Point Barrow 
September 19, 1882. 

Egg dates. — Alaska, south of peninsula : Fifty records, June 3 to 
July 16 ; twenty-five records, June 20 to July 3. Washington : Nine- 
teen records, May 29 to July 23 ; ten records, June 14 to 19. British 
Columbia : Sixteen records, June 14 to July 16 ; eight records, June 
16 to 24. 

LARUS KUMLIENI Brewster. 
KTTMLIEN'S GTJLL. 

HABITS. 

Very little is known about the distribution, much less about the 
habits, of this and the following species — the two gray-winged 
gulls— as both are very rare. Kumlien's gull was described by Brews- 
ter (1883<z) from a specimen secured by Ludwig Kumlien in Cum- 
berland Sound on June 14, 1878. 



74 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Nesting. — When Kumlien (1879) found this species breeding in 
Cumberland Sound in 1878 he supposed that it was identical with 
the glaucous- winged gull of the Pacific coast and so reported it. He 
then gave us the following brief account of its habits : 

They are quite common in the upper Cumberland waters, where they breed. 
Arrived with the opening of the water and soon began nesting. The nest was 
placed on the shelving rocks on high cliffs. Two pairs nested very near our 
harbor, but the ravens tore the nest down and destroyed the eggs. Only a 
single well-identified egg was secured. This gull is unknown to Governor 
Fencker on the Greenland coast. They remained about the harbor a great 
deal and were often observed making away with such scraps as the cook had 
thrown overboard; were shy and difficult to shoot. Full-grown young of this 
species were shot in the first days of September. These were even darker 
than the young of L. argentatus, the primaries and tail being very nearly black. 

Since that time nothing further has been learned of its breeding 
habits, eggs, or young. 

Eggs. — Several sets of eggs were collected by Mr. J. S. Warmbath 
on one of the Peary expeditions, which have since found their way 
into collections as eggs of Kumlien's gull. These eggs were 
taken in Ellesmere Land on June 15, 1900, and are probably eggs of 
a new species of gull, to be known as Larus ihayeri. Probably the 
only authentic egg of Larus humlieni in existence is the one re- 
ferred to above as taken by Kumlien. This egg is now in the United 
States National Museum ; it is a miserable specimen, too badly broken 
to measure accurately, and is tied together with thread. In shape it 
is practically elongate ovate. The ground color is " olive buff " ; it 
is sparingly spotted over the entire surface with small spots of 
" bister," " sepia," several lighter shades of brown, and various 
shades of brownish drab. If a series of eggs were available for 
study they would probably show the usual variations which are 
found in nearly all gulls' eggs. 

Plumages. — Dr. Jonathan Dwight (1906) has made a careful 
study of the plumages of this rare species and, based on the examina- 
tion of 22 specimens, has given us the following conclusions : 

The natal down is unknown, as no chicks have as yet found their way into 
collections. The juvenal plumage may be described as follows: 

Above, drab-gray mottled with dull white and obscurely barred and mottled 
with darker gray; below, more solidly gray, paler about the head and throat. 
Flight feathers a brownish gray, darker than the body, the outer webs of the 
primaries darkest. Tail almost solidly drab-gray, the basal portion and the 
outer pair of rectrices sprinkled with dull white; the upper and under tail 
coverts similar in color, but with a good deal of blotching or barring. They 
might easily pass for specimens of glaucescens if it were not for the small 
bills and rather smaller dimensions. They are considerably darker (especially 
the primaries) than the darkest leucopterus I have seen, and the nearly solid 
gray of the tail is a feature not seen in leucopterus. Besides this, the barring 
and mottling is much coarser and darker. In one of the birds there is a faintly 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NOKTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TEENS. 75 

indicated whitish subapical spot on the first primary, but similar spots may 
be found in other species of gulls, and it seems to be a variable character of 
little importance. These specimens are perhaps not in full juvenal plumage, 
for they are probably partly in first winter dress; and two of them, just 
beginning the prenuptial molt, having acquired a few gray nuptial feathers 
of the mantle ; but it must be remembered that the differences between juvenal 
and first-winter plumages of the gulls are inappreciable. It is probable that 
the brown shade is due to fading and that earlier in the season these birds 
were grayer. 

First winter plumage. — From what has just been said it has been made 
evident that this plumage differs in practically no respect from the juvenaL 
The post-juvenal molt is variable in the time of its occurrence, just as it is 
in all the gulls, and overlaps the prenuptial so as to be in many cases confused 
with it. 

First nuptial plumage. — This plumage doubtless closely resembles the juvenal 
or the first winter, but birds may be expected to become whiter about the head 
and with a few gray feathers on the back. 

Second tcinter plumage. — Like leucopterus, this species attains a considerable 
amount of adult plumage at this moult. The gray mantle, clouded white head 
and body, and white tail indicate a close approximation to the adult plumage ; 
but the primaries and other feathers of the wings are usually drab and not very 
much paler than in first winter birds. Dark gray or mottled feathers may also 
be found on the wings or tail or on the body posteriorly. The bills are yellow, 
but often clouded and with the red spot lacking. The variation is considerable, 
just as in glaucus or leucopterus or glaucescens, but the darkness of flight feath- 
ers or tail, or both combined, is a character useful in separating kumlieni 
from the two species last mentioned. The tail feathers, like those of glauces- 
cens, while largely white, may show gray patches, chiefly on the inner webs. 

Second nuptial plumage. — The body plumage is renewed more or less at the 
second prenuptial moult, and I find evidence of this in several specimens. 

Third winter plumage. — Just as in the other gulls, this species after the sec- 
ond post-nuptial moult assumes (except perhaps in a very few cases) the adult 
plumage. 

Behavior. — It is fair to assume that the habits of Kumlien's gull 
probably do not differ materially from those of the other large gulls, 
for they are all very much alike in general behavior with the possible 
exception of the tyrannous great black-backed gull. 

Winter. — Kumlien's gull wanders southward late in the fall and 
winter, probably regularly, though sparingly, as far south as south- 
ern New England and New York, where it is associated with herring 
gulls and other species, acting as savengers about our harbors. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Known to breed only in Cumberland Sound. 
Specimens taken in Ellesmere Land prove to be thayeri. 

Winter range.— So far as known, the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Prince 
Edward Island) and Bay of Fundy (Grand Manan) ; southward 
rarely to Massachusetts (Plymouth and Boston), and New York 
(Long Island and Mohawk River). 



76 BUIJL.ETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Spring migration. — Long Island, Rockaway Beach, March 8; 
Maine, Portland, April 27. 

Fall migration. — Gulf of Cumberland, September 27 ; Prince Ed- 
ward Island, October 7 ; Bay of Fundy, November 1. 

LARUS NELSONI Henshaw. 
NELSON'S GULL. 

HABITS. 

This large gray- winged gull of the Pacific coast and Bering Sea is 
so rare that its status, as a species, is none too well established, 
though the four specimens which had^been studied by Doctor D wight 
(1906) led him to the conclusion that "nelsoni seems to have as good 
a claim for specific distinctness as does kumlieni, of which it appears 
to be a large edition." Nothing seems to be known about its breed- 
ing habits or its breeding range. 

Plumages. — Doctor D wight (1906) after examining the scanty 
material available, suggests the following, regarding the probable 
plumage changes of this rare species : 

The young bird has never been described, but inasmuch as Jcumlieni in juvenal 
plumage is scarcely to be distinguished from glaucescens, there is every reason 
for expecting the corresponding plumage of nelsoni to be practically the same. 
The birds, though, ought to be larger than glaucescens, and I have no doubt that 
very large specimens now labeled " glaucescens " in various collections will 
eventually prove to be nelsoni. Such a bird has been recorded in the British 
Museum Catalogue, but somehow I overlooked it when examining the collection. 
In the American Museum, however, I find two specimens (Nos. 26234 and 61536) 
so much larger than glaucescens usually is that I believe them to be nelsoni. 
The tarsi and feet are unusually large and massive and the bills very heavy. 
The bird in the Philadelphia Academy is completing an adult post-nuptial moult, 
but the other specimens throw very little light on the subject of moult in this 
species,, 

I have never recognized the bird in life and can not find anything 
in print regarding its habits, in which it probably closely resembles 
Kumlien's and the glaucous- winged gulls. Some day, when its breed- 
ing grounds are discovered, we may know more about it. I am in- 
clined to think that it may prove to be identical with Larus Jcum- 
lieni, or at best only subspecifically distinct from it. The fact that 
a young gull, possibly referable to kumlieni, has been taken on the, 
coast of California adds weight to this theory, which may be estab- 
lished when more material has been collected. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Range. — Three specimens taken in Alaska — St. Michael, June 20 ;| 
near Bering Strait ; and Point Barrow, September 5. One taken ii 
Lower California, San Geronimo Island, March 18. One taken ii 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 15 




Labrador. 



A. C. Bent. 




Labrador. 



A. C. Bent. 



Great Black-Backed Gull. 

For description see page 330. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GUjLLS AND TERNS. 77 

Hawaiian Islands, Hilo, March 13. One taken on Vancouver Island, 
December 20. Its ranges and migration are otherwise unknown. 

LARUS MARINUS Linnssus. 
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 

HABITS. 

While cruising along the bleak and barren coasts of southern 
Labrador I learned to know and admire this magnificent gull, as 
we saw it sailing on its powerful wings high above the desolate 
crags and rocky islets of that forbidding shore, its chosen summer 
home. Its resemblance to the bald eagle was striking, as it soared 
aloft and wheeled in great circles, showing its broad black back and 
wings in sharp contrast with its snow-white head and tail, glistening 
in the sunlight. It surely seemed to be a king among the gulls, a 
merciless tyrant over its fellows, the largest and strongest of its tribe. 
No weaker gull dared to intrude upon its feudal domain; the islet 
it had chosen for its home was deserted and shunned by other less 
aggressive waterfowl, for no other nest was safe about the castle of 
this robber baron, only the eider duck being strong enough to defend 
its young. 

Spring. — Early in May, when winter is breaking up on the south 
coast of Labrador, the loud defiant cries of the great black-backed 
gulls are heard as the birds return from their winter resorts to take 
possession of their summer homes. Mating and nest building begin 
soon after their arrival. They are not so gregarious here as other 
gulls. We found no large breeding colonies on this coast, seldom 
more than four or five pairs on an island, and often only one pair. 
They seem to prefer solitude and isolation, where each pair can hold 
undisputed sway over its own territory. We never found them 
breeding on the mainland, but always on the bare tops of islands, 
from 1 which they could have a good outlook. They were never 
taken by surprise and always left the island long before we reached 
it, soaring high above us, screaming in protest. They were exceed- 
ingly shy and would never come within gunshot unless outwitted by 
strategy, which was no easy task. While walking along the shore 
at the base of a cliff a black-backed gull flew out over the cliff unex- . 
pectedly, and I dropped him with a charge of heavy shot, but this 
was the only specimen I was able to obtain. 

Nesting. — The first nest we found was on a little low islet with 
sandy and rocky shores, over which a single pair of great black- 
backed gulls were soaring, as if interested. The nest was conspicu- 
ous enough when we landed, for it had been built over the base and 
about the roots of a dead tree which had been washed up on the 



78 BUTiT,ETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL, MUSEUM. 

beach — a large pile of coarse grasses, seaweeds, sods, and mosses 
neatly lined with fine grasses. It measured 52 inches across the pile, 
and the inner cavity, which was deeply hollowed, was 10 inches in 
diameter. It contained three fresh eggs on May 25, 1909. . Another 
nest was found the next day, which also contained three fresh eggs, 
on the moss-covered rocks on the highest portion of a small island. It 
was a shallow nest of mosses, grasses, twigs, and rubbish, with a few 
feathers and a little seaweed. It measured 20 inches in outside and 10 
inches in inside diameter, hollowed to a depth of about 2J inches. 
There was only one pair of gulls on this island, but a pair of eiders 
were nesting in a hollow among some fallen dead trees. On some of 
the islands the nests were mere depressions in the turf 9 or 10 inches 
across, and the eggs were laid on the ground. The fresh green grass 
made a handsome border to these nests, but there was no lining of any 
sort, and not even a twig or bit of straw was used in the construction. 
Some of them had evidently been used for several seasons. 

On the northeast coast of Labrador, in 1912, I found the great 
black-backed gull common and evenly distributed all along the coast, 
breeding in single pairs on low rocky islands, well inland in the deep 
bays and among the outer islands. They are locally known as " sad- 
dlers " or " saddle backs." They are intimately associated with the 
eider ducks, affording them some protection as sentinels to warn 
them of approaching dangers. There is almost always a pair of 
great black-backed gulls nesting on every island where the American 
eiders or northern eiders are breeding. The fishermen rob the ducks' 
nests persistently all through the summer, but do not disturb the 
gull's nests, for they believe that if the gulls are driven away the 
ducks will not return to breed again. Apparently the adult gulls do 
not rob the eider's nests, for they are too shy to do so while egg col- 
lectors are on the island, and at other times the eiders are able to 
defend their eggs ; but I saw some evidence to indicate that the young 
gulls, when unable to fly but large enough to run about, do some- 
times eat the eider eggs. While exploring a low rocky island in one 
of the bays, where several pairs of northern eiders and one pair of 
great black-backed gulls were breeding, on August 2, 1912, 1 noticed 
an eider's nest in which the eggs had been broken and eaten. One 
young gull was seen swimming away from the island and one long- 
legged youngster, about half grown, was running about over the 
smooth rocks so fast that we could hardly catch him. I suspected 
that he was responsible for the broken eggs. Probably the damage 
done in this way is more than offset by the benefits derived from 
such wary sentinels and such powerful defenders against the depre- 
dations of other gulls and ravens. Young gulls are considered to be 
very good eating and are often kept in confinement by the resi- 
dents cf Labrador and fattened for the table. 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 79 

In Newfoundland the great black-backed gull breeds on the islands 
in fresh-water lakes. On June 23, 1912, I visited a small breeding 
colony of this species on an island in Sandy Lake, Newfoundland, 
where about seven pairs of gulls had already hatched their broods and 
where they had been known to breed regularly for many years. It 
was a small island, heavily wooded in the central higher portion with 
birches, poplars, alders, and thick underbrush, but with broad, stony 
beaches around its shores. The gulls' nests were scattered along the 
higher portions of the beaches among the loose rocks. All of the nests 
were empty and most of the young birds were so well hidden among 
the stones, under piles of driftwood, or in the woods that we found 
only two. I saw several downy young, only a few days old, swim 
away from the beach and out onto the rough waters of the lake, where 
their parents watched them anxiously and finally drove them back to 
the island after we had left. A pair of glaucous gulls and one or two 
pairs of herring gulls were flying about the island, but their nests 
were probably on some of the neighboring islands. 

The southern limit of its breeding range seems to be in Nova 
Scotia, where there are several breeding colonies in the lakes of 
Kings County. Mr. Watson L. Bishop (1888) reported several sets 
taken on May 22 and May 25 : 

These were collected on rocks and small islands in the Gaspereaux Lake, 
where quite a number of these birds breed every year. It is about 18 miles 
from salt water. 

There is also said to be a colony of 50 or 100 black-backed gulls 
nesting on rocky islets in Methol Lake in this county. The largest 
colony seems to be the well-known colony in Lake George, on which 
Mr. Howard H. Cleaves has sent me the following interesting notes : 

In 1912 there were from 600 to 800 adult great black-backed gulls in the 
breeding colony at Lake George, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. At that time 
the birds were confined to two islands near the northern end of the lake, but 
Mr. Harrison F. Lewis observed that the colony had increased in 1913 and 1914 
so that in the latter year the birds were occupying four or five islands. The 
writer and Mr. G. K. Noble spent the period from July 21 to 28, 1912, encamped 
on an island within a quarter of a mile of the gull islands, visiting the latter 
daily, when weather conditions permitted, for the purpose of photographing and 
otherwise studying the birds. The islands selected by the gulls were not large, 
each comprising probably between two and three acres. They were bordered 
with glacial bowlders of varying sizes, upon which the young and old habitually 
stood or squatted. The highest portions of the islands were not more than 8 
or 10 feet above the level of the lake. The topsoil, evidently not deep, supported 
thick growths of weeds and bushes, chief among the latter being alders and 
raspberry. There were a few spruces, but these w T ere small and scattering, and 
there were also several open areas of coarse turf. The lateness of the season 
at the time of our visit accounted for the finding of only one nest with eggs (three 
in number), but there were enough empty nests to justify the belief that all the 
adult birds present had bred, which would mean an aggregate of 300 or 400 nests. 



80 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

The birds had used a diversity of sites, some being on rocky peninsulas, others 
on the turf back from the shore, and many among bowlders or beside stumps a 
short way from the water line. All seemed to have been situated with a view 
to affording the owners a clear outlook, it being noted that apparently no birds 
had selected locations beneath the canopy of the thicket or under the low, spread- 
ing branches of spruces. 

Eggs. — The great black-backed gull lays usually three eggs, but 
sometimes only two. The ground color varies from " pale olive buff " 
to " wood brown," " buffy brown," or " Isabella color," with a tend- 
ency in some specimens toward " tawny olive " or " cinnamon." They 
are more or less heavily spotted or blotched with various shades of 
brown, varying from " Brussels brown " to " clove brown," and are 
often more or less spotted or clouded with pale lilac, drab, or lavender 
gray. The measurements of 59 eggs, in various collections, average 
77.9 by 54.2 millimeters ; the eggs showing the four extreme measure 
86.5 by 54.5, 79 by 57.5, 73 by 53, and 73.5 by 51 millimeters. 

Young. — The period of incubation is said to be 26 days. Both 
sexes incubate and assist in the care of the young. The young re- 
main in the nest for a day or two, but are soon able to crawl out and 
run about. They spend much of their time hiding in the grass, in 
crevices between stones, among the underbrush, or anywhere that 
they can find a little shelter, where they probably sleep most of the 
time; but when disturbed they can run with surprising swiftness. 
I have had to exert myself to the utmost to catch one of the larger 
young, whose long legs could carry it about as fast as I could run. 
They are feci by their parents on soft, semidigested food at first, but 
gradually they are trained to accept more solid food. Mr. Cleaves 
has sent me the following notes on the feeding process : 

Young of all ages spent much energy in beseeching their parents for food, 
and the old birds often displayed a discouraging apathy toward their young at 
such times, even taking to flight or swimming away from the shore to escape the 
entreaties of their progeny. The older youngsters would sometimes swim 
after their parents in their eagerness for rations. In begging for a meal it 
was usual for a young gull to utter a whining cry and to run his bill along the 
neck or body of his parent. Not infrequently two or three young were thus 
besieging one old bird simultaneously. 

In delivering food to her young the old gull first threw her head forward 
and downward (with a deliberation of movement which must have been pain- 
ful to the waiting babies), then opened her spacious mouth and began a series 
of contortions with her neck muscles. The youngsters, being well aware by now 
of the imminent, centered attention on the flat stones in front of their mother, 
where the disgorged dainties presently appeared. Both parents were observed 
to feed the young. Immediately after delivering a meal the old birds some- 
times stood by until the young were well underway with it — this so far as we 
could see, being for the purpose of keeping off neighbors, either young or 
old, who might be inclined to piracy. On one occasion an old bird chased into 
the water a half-grown youngster belonging to another pair, and, with her 
blows at the back of his head with her beak, might have murdered him had 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 81 

he not been able, by the use of both his wings and feet, to make the beach and 
scramble into the brush. A violent encounter lasting many seconds also 
took place between two adult birds, the striking of their beaks and the 
thrashing of their giant wings against the alders creating a commotion such as 
might do credit to a bull moose. It could not be determined whether the 
origin of these differences was a matter of food or trespass. 

Plumages. — The downy young is mainly " pale olive gray," paler 
on the head and flanks and white on the central breast portion. The 
head is distinctly marked with well-defined spots, of various sizes 
and shapes, of " fuscous black " ; the back is indistinctly spotted or 
variegated with " fuscous " and the wings are more heavily marked 
with an intermediate shade of " fuscous." The lower parts are un- 
marked. By the time that the young bird is half grown it is nearly 
fledged in its juvenal plumage, which appears first on the scapulars, 
wings, breast, and back, in about the order named. The dorsal 
feathers of this plumage are dusky, broadly tipped or margined with 
" avellaneous " or " vinaceous buff." This color pattern, which 
varies considerably in different feathers, is more pronounced in the 
scapulars and wing coverts than elsewhere. The color patterns in the 
different feathers vary from a solid dusky center, with broad buffy 
edges, to a herring-bone pattern, showing a dusky central streak with 
lateral processes, or to heavy transverse barring. The underparts are 
also variegated with dusky and " vinaceous buff " or " tilleul buff." 
The change from the juvenal to the first winter plumage is not well 
marked, as it is very gradual and is accomplished with a limited 
amount of molt. The buffy edgings on the dorsal surface fade and 
wear away during the winter until they become practically white be- 
fore spring, when the back appears to be transversely barred with 
dusky and white. The head, which was heavily streaked with dusky 
in the fall, and the underparts also become much whiter before 
spring. In this first-year plumage the primaries are wholly black, 
with only the narrowest suggestion of white tips on the innermost; 
the secondaries and tertials are dusky and more or less broadly edged 
with buffy white ; the greater coverts are somewhat variegated ; and 
the lesser coverts are like the back. The tail is basally white, much 
mottled or variegated with " fuscous " or " fuscous black," with a 
broad subterminal band of " fuscous black." This band is broadest 
and the mottling is thickest on the central rectices, decreasing out- 
wardly, so that the outer feather has only a large subterminal spot 
and a few dusky markings. The bill is wholly dark. 

The second-year plumage shows Only a slight advance toward 
maturity, and is mainly characterized by the mixture of several 
different types of feathers in the back, scapulars, and wing coverts. 
Some of these are wholly " slate color " or " blackish slate," as 
in the adult; others are basally so colored and terminally barred, 



82 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

spotted, or variegated; still other new feathers are reproductions 
of those seen in the first year plumage. There is great individual 
variation in the amount of "slate color " assumed during this year, 
but probably it increases as the season advances. The wings are 
not strikingly different from those of the first year. There are 
more conspicuous white tips on the tertials, secondaries, and inner 
primaries, and the coverts contain more " slate color." The under- 
parts are largely or wholly white, increasingly so toward spring. 
The bill is lighter near the base and has a light tip. 

The third-year plumage shows about the same stage of advance 
toward maturity as the second year in the herring gull. The man- 
tle is now more than half " blackish slate " ; the wing-coverts, both 
greater and lesser, are still mottled with dusky and white, but there 
are many adult feathers among the mottled ones; the secondaries 
and tertials are as in the adult ; the primaries are black, tipped with 
white, and the outer primary now has a broad subterminal white 
space an inch and a half long. The tail is white, more or less varie- 
gated with dusky near the tip. The underparts are pure white, and 
so is the head, except for a few dusky streaks on the hind neck, 
which disappear before spring. The bill still shows traces of dusky. 

At the next postnuptial molt, when a little over 3 years old, 
some birds probably assume the adult plumage, with the pure white 
tail, the complete dark mantle and the broad white tips of the 
primaries, which in the first primary measures 2J inches. But 
probably a large majority of the birds still retain traces of imma- 
turity in the primaries and the tail, which do not reach their full 
perfection until a year later; and apparently the white in the 
primaries increases a little at each succeeding molt until the maxi- 
mum is reached. 

Both adults and young have a complete postnuptial molt in 
August and September, and an incomplete prenuptial molt during 
the winter and early spring. The adult winter plumage differs from 
the nuptial only in having a few faint, narrow streaks of dusky on 
the hind neck, which are more conspicuous in the younger birds and 
less so in the older ones. 

Food. — The great black-backed gull is a voracious feeder, omnivor- 
ous, and not at all fastidious. On or about its breeding grounds it 
feeds largely on the eggs of other birds, particularly sea birds, when 
it can find them unprotected, or upon the small young of such birds 
as are unable to defend them. Mr. M. A. Frazar (1887) describes 
its method of capturing young eiders as follows : 

Two or three gulls will hover over a brood in the water, which, of course, 
confuses the mother duck and scatters the brood in all directions. Then, by 
following the ducklings after each dive, they would soon tire them out, and 
a skillfully directed blow at the base of the skull, which seldom missed its 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN" GULLS AND TERNS. 83 

aim, would in an instant finish the business, and, before the unhappy duck 
would know which way to turn, its brood would be one less. On several occa- 
sions I have seen the mother duck drawn several feet in the air by clinging to 
the gull as it dove for its prey, and several times I have seen a venturesome 
" black-back " get knocked over with a charge of shot when he happened to 
get too interested in his pursuit and allow of my too close approach. 

He writes in the same paper that some of these gulls partially de- 
voured some cormorants which he had shot and allowed to drift 
on the water for a short time. It feeds largely on fish, but prob- 
ably seldom succeeds in catching them itself. It does not object 
to carrion, and will gorge itself on the carcass of a dead whale or 
pick up anything that it can find in the way of animal food along 
the shore. While wintering on our coasts it does its part as a scav- 
enger, feeding on floating garbage with other gulls. 

Mr. Cleaves contributes the following notes on its feeding habits : 

From remains discovered on the ground it wa3 evident that the food of the 
birds consisted exclusively of fish and allied sea food. The greater portion of 
a large squid was once found where it had been abandoned, evidently by a 
fleeing youngster; and on another occasion we discovered a 10-inch mackerel 
that had been very little affected by the digestive juices of the old gull that 
had delivered it to her young. Lesser remains of fish were frequently found, 
and occasionally we came to bones where it would seem they had been dis- 
gorged in the shape of pellets. None of the food was secured in the fresh- 
water lake, but was obtained from the ocean, which lay more than 5 miles 
distant to the west. From early morning until late in the evening the old 
gulls were seen flying either toward the ocean or returning from it, their 
course being always the same. The birds traveled in companies of twos or 
threes, and while passing over the land barrier always sought an altitude 
which insured safety from any possible gunshot. 

Behavior. — The soaring flight of the great black-backed gull is 
majestic and grand in the extreme. It has been well likened to the 
flight of an eagle, for the resemblance to the king of birds is cer- 
tainly striking, as it floats in great circles high above its rocky home, 
the monarch of its tribe. When traveling its flight is slow and 
heavy, as might be expected in the largest of the gulls, but it is 
always strong, dignified, and protracted. Macgillivray (1852) writes : 

Its flight is strong, ordinarily sedate, less wavering and buoyant than that of 
smaller species, but graceful, effective, and even majestic. There, running 
a few steps and flapping its long wings, it springs into the air, wheels to 
either side, ascends, and on outspread and beautifully curved pinions hies 
away to some distant place. In advancing against a strong breeze it some- 
times proceeds straight forward, then shoots away in an oblique direction, 
now descends in a long curve so as almost to touch the water, then mounts 
on high. When it wheels about and sweeps down the wind its progress is 
extremly rapid. It walks with ease, using short steps, runs with considerable 
speed, and, like the other gulls, pats the sands or mud on the edge of the 
water with its feet. It generally rests standing on one foot, with its head 
drawn in ; but in a dry place it often reposes by laying itself down. 



84 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Although usually silent elsewhere, it is a very noisy bird on its 
breeding grounds, indulging in a variety of loud, harsh cries or 
raven-like croaks. It has a long drawn-out scream — keeaaw — on a 
lower key than that of the herring gull. It also has a short, more 
quickly uttered note — how, how, how — very much like the other 
gulls; also a high pitched hi hi and a hoarse laughing ha, ha, ha. 
Its courtship note is softer and more prolonged, sounding at times 
like howaat, but varied and modulated in a most human manner. 
Mr. Cleaves describes some of the vocal performances as follows : 

There were few moments of the day or night when absolute silence prevailed 
in the colony. The sounds produced by the birds were varied, both in form 
and in volume, and ranging from the baby whine of the downy young to the 
great bellow or trumpet of a giant adult black-back standing above the lake 
on a 6-foot bowlder. The calls intermediate between these two extremes were 
mostly variations of groans or kindred sounds, some of which were soft and 
to be heard only at short range. There were two cries, given perhaps with 
greater frequency than all others, which the writer can now recall with most 
distinctness. One was the mellow " kuk-kuk-kuk," uttered when the birds were 
disturbed and far aloft over the islands; the other, the inspiring trumpeting 
bellow, emitted when the gulls were unmolested, and usually when standing 
on some prominence or on the open shore. Bach syllable of the latter cry 
sounded like " oo " in " loon," given slowly and with comparative softness at 
first, but repeated slightly more rapidly as the call proceeded and the syllables 
gaining volume until, at the end, when the sound had been uttered 8 to tL4 
times, the noise was tremendous at a range of only a few feet. The uproar 
caused by a chorus of 50 trumpeting gulls could no doubt be distinctly heard 
over the lake on an otherwise still morning at a range of a mile or more. 
In producing this bellowing call a bird usually began on the introductory notes 
with his head lowered, raising it as the call advanced, until, at the finish, his 
open bill pointed toward the zenith and his neck was inflated from the force 
of his " challenge." 

Mr. Cleaves relates in his notes the following interesting incident : 

One pair of old birds, who apparently had but a single chick of probably two 
weeks, engaged in a curious performance only 3 feet from the wall of the blind. 
Amid rumbling sounds and groanings from the parents and whining from the 
baby one of the old birds picked from the beach a dried fern leaf and waded 
slowly and with apparent gravity into the lake with it until he was belly deep 
in the water. He then stopped and thrust his bill and its contents beneath the 
surface, moving his head rather vigorously from side to side as he did so. The 
female ( ?) followed a few paces behind with empty beak, and when she was a 
little way from the shore she submerged her entire head, holding it below for 
two or three seconds. After withdrawing it she took a step or two forward 
(following the first bird) and then immersed her head again. Throughout the 
entire ceremony the youngster whined, apparently for food, and waded as far 
in the wake of his elders as he could, with comfort, in the choppy waves. The 
bird carrying the fern then came slowly back to shore where his burden was 
dropped without further formality. Some minutes later, however, the same bird 
picked up a cast primary from the beach and reenacted almost the exact cere- 
mony through which he had gone with the dead fern, and the other members of 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. K 




Lake George, Nova Scotia. 



H. H. Cleaves. 




Lake George, Nova Scotia. 



H. H. Cleaves. 



Great Black-Backed Gull. 

FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 330. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 85 

the family repeated their parts of the act also. Whether all of this was mere 
play or whether it possessed a greater significance it would no doubt be difficult 
to determine. 

Winter.— About the middle of August, or as soon as the young are 
able to fly and care for themselves, these gulls leave their breeding 
grounds and wander about or start to migrate southward. They 
sometimes appear on the Massachusetts coast in August, though not 
regularly until September, where they are more or less common all 
winter until the second or third week in April. Dr. Charles W. 
Townsend (1905) records them as common on the coast of Essex 
County, Massachusetts, from July 17 to May 1, and says, " as early 
as July 17, 1904, I found seven adults in a flock of herring gulls on 
Ipswich Beach," though these may have been summer stragglers and 
not migrants from their breeding grounds farther north. Their 
normal winter range extends from southern Greenland to Delaware, 
with straggling records farther south. While wintering on our 
coasts they associate freely with the herring gulls, with which they 
seem to be on good terms, feeding with them on what refuse they can 
pick up in our harbors or along the shores. They are practically 
silent and not nearly so tyrannical as on their breeding grounds, 
though they may occasionally be seen chasing the other gulls and 
robbing them of their food. Adult birds can, of course, be easily 
recognized and the superior size of the immature birds is distinctive. 
While roosting on a sand bar or on floating ice a black-backed gull 
always looms up large in a flock of herring gulls. They are exceed- 
ingly shy at this season, and it is useless to attempt to approach 
them in an open situation. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Coasts and islands of northeastern North 
America and northern Europe. In the Western Hemisphere, from 
North Devon Island and central western Greenland (Disco) south- 
ward, along both coasts of Labrador to eastern Quebec (Godbout), 
Anticosti Island, Newfoundland (Sandy Lake), Nova Scotia (Pic- 
tou, Halifax, and Kentville) and Bay of Fundy (Isle au Haute). 
In the Eastern Hemisphere, Iceland, Shetland, and Faroe Islands, 
Scotland, and northern Europe east to eastern Eussia (Petchora 
River), and south to about 50° N. 

Winter range. — Regularly on the coast of the United States from 
Maine to New Jersey. More rarely north to southern Greenland 
and south to northern Florida (St. Augustine) and Bermuda. 
Occasionally south to Ohio (Columbus) and west to Michigan (De- 



86 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

troit) on the Great Lakes. In Europe from Great Britain south 
to the Azores and Canary Islands, the Mediterranean, and the Black 
Sea. 

Spring migration, — Early dates of arrival: Newfoundland, St. 
Johns, March 1 ; Labrador, Eomaine, March 26, and Rigolet, April 
9. Late dates of departure : New York, Long Island, May 13 ; Mas- 
sachusetts, Boston, May 25, and Woods Hole, June 10. Non- 
breeding birds linger on the coasts of New England late into or 
all through the summer. 

Fall migration. — Early dates of arrival, excluding summer strag- 
glers: Massachusetts, Woods Hole, September 24 (average October 
8) ; Long Island, Orient, September 12 (average October 5). Late 
dates of departures: Greenland, Gothaab, September 3; eastern 
Labrador, November 2 ; Prince Edward Island, November 12 ; Nova 
Scotia, Pictou, December 13. 

Casual records. — Accidental in Nebraska (Missouri River, May, 
1871), Kerguelen Island (June 5, 1840), and Japan (Hakodadi). 

Egg dates. — Quebec, Labrador: Twenty records, May 25 to June 
28 ; ten records, June 5 to 15. " Nova Scotia : Fifteen records, May 15 
to June 13; eight records, May 22 to 27. Great Britain: Eleven 
records, April 28 to July 20; six records, May 20 to June 1. Ice- 
land: Three records, May 18 and 28, and June 6. 

LARUS SCHISTISAGUS Stejneger. 
SLATY-BACKED GULL. 

HABITS. 

Dr. Leonhard Stejneger (1885) has demonstrated, by an exhaustive 
treatise on the subject, that this is a well-marked species, although 
one can not read his remarks without realizing how much confusion 
has arisen over the nomenclature and relationships of the Laridae. 
In both size and color it is intermediate between the great black- 
backed gull and the western gull; but its best and most constant 
character is the color pattern of the primaries, which Doctor Stejne- 
ger has well described and illustrated. It is an Asiatic species, with 
its center of abundance in northeastern Siberia, which has established 
a slight foothold on some of the islands of Bering Sea and in north- 
ern Alaska, chiefly as a straggler. It may eventually become better 
established in Alaska, as several other Asiatic species have done. 

Spring. — Doctor Stejneger (1885) first saw it on Bering Island, in 
the Commander Islands, but afterwards found it common near Petro- 
paulski, Kamchatka. Mr. N. G. Buxton's notes, published by Dr. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 87 

J. A. Allen (1905), give the best life history of the species in that 
region. He writes: 

This is the most conspicuous and one of the most abundant birds along the 
Okhotsk Sea. From the time of its arrival until it departs there is scarcely a 
time when one can not either hear or see one or more of these birds. The first 
arrivals are usually reported about the 20th of April, and from that time on 
they increase in numbers daily until May 1, when they have nearly all arrived. 
From the time of their arrival until the nesting season begins they make daily 
excursions up the rivers in the morning and return to their roosting places 
along the seacoast in the evening. They go up the Gichiga River at this time 
as far as Christova, 30 miles above its mouth. Also at this time many may 
be seen soaring in large circles high over the tundra and marsh above the mouth 
of the river, when they utter a cry very similar to that of the red-tailed hawk 
during the breeding season. None of the dark phase are seen among the earlier 
arrivals, but by the 15th of May they begin to appear, and increase in numbers 
until they have all arrived, although at no time during the spring and early 
summer do they form any considerable per cent of the thousands that one sees. 
Before the ice goes out of the head of the bay and river, their food supply is 
limited to the few dead salmon which the melting snow exposes on the gravel 
bars along the river beds and the mussels they pick from the rocks along the 
seacoast at low tide. 

Nesting. — By the first of June all of the breeders have repaired to the rugged 
seacoast and rocky islets lying off it, below the mouth of the river, to breed. 
Oniy the roughest and most inaccessible places are chosen for nesting sites, 
generally at the headlands, where sections of the solid rocks have been partly 
or wholly separated from the mainland. The nests, which are loose, bulky 
structures, composed of grass and with but a slight depression in the center, 
are placed on ledges and the tops of rocks. Three eggs constitute a set, and 
they show the usual large variation in color and size found in the eggs of 
other species of Larus. The height of the nesting season is reached about June 
10, when the koraks visit their rookeries and obtain large numbers of their 
eggs by being lowered down the cliffs with sealskin lines. Many more breeders 
spend the summer on the bars and along the marsh near the mouth of the 
river, and on the gravel bars along its bed. 

Rev. W. F. Henninger (1910) refers to three sets of eggs of the 
slaty-backed gull, containing three, two, and one eggs, respectively, 
that were " taken on the coast of Siberia, near the Bering Strait, on 
June 4, 1905. The nest was a mere depression or hollow in some 
moss." There are two sets, of three eggs each, in Col. John E. 
Thayer's collection, taken by Capt. H. H. Bodflsh in Harrowby Bay, 
on the Arctic coast of northwestern Canada, June 11, 1901. The nests 
are described as made of grass, roots, and mud and lined with dry 
grass ; they were placed on a point making into the bay. The parent 
birds were collected and the skins were identified by Mr. Robert 
Ridgway and Dr. A. K. Fisher- These are probably authentic sets, 
though they were .taken outside of the previously known breeding 
range of the species. 

174785—21 7 



88 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL, MUSEUM. 

Eggs. — These two sets might easily be matched with eggs of some 
of the commoner species of Lamis. The shape is practically ovate and 
the ground color is " Isabella color." They are more or less evenly 
covered with small spots of " clove brown," " blackish brown," 
" sepia," and " bister," as well as several shades of " brownish drab." 

Two eggs in the writer's collection, from the Asiatic coast, show 
other extremes of coloration. The darker one has a. ground color of 
" Saccardo's umber " and is spotted with " blackish brown " and 
"brownish drab;" the lighter one has a "deep olive-buff" ground, 
color and is spotted with " snuff brown," " bister," and several shades 
of " brownish drab," some very light and some very dark shades. 
The measurements of 34 eggs, in various collections, average 74 by 
51.5 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 
81 by 52, 77 by 54, 67.1 by 50 and 72 by 48 millimeters. 

Plumages. — I have never seen the downy young of this species, nor 
can I find any description of it in print. The sequence of molts 
and plumages, so far as can be learned from the limited amount of 
material available for study, is practically the same as in the great 
black-backed gull. Young birds during the first fall and winter are 
darker than those of the commoner species, particularly on the under- 
pays, which are nearly uniform dusky. 

Behavior. — For the remainder of the life history of this little- 
known species I must again quote from Mr. Buxton's notes, as 
follows : 

After the nesting season is over, about the 1st of August, the breeders and 
young of the year join the nonbreeders and they all spend the rest of the season 
in flying up and down the river, collecting in large flocks along the water front, 
and gorging themselves on the worn-out salmon that they find there. At this 
time they begin to fly up the river at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning, continuing 
to fly until the middle of the forenoon, and then begin the return flight at 5 p. m., 
and continue to fly until long after dark, which does not occur at that time 
until 10 or 11 p. m. They are so abundant that on these flights there is one 
continuous long, loose flock of them without any considerable break or inter- 
mission. The height of the return flight is from 6 to 8 p. m. When the wind 
is strong they fly high, but when it is calm they fly low and are easily attracted. 
When one is killed on the wing, or a decoy is thrown into the air, all the gulis 
in the vicinity will immediately " land about " and circle once or twice over 
the dead bird or decoy, changing their usual guttural cackle to hoarse " squeals " 
of alarm before proceeding on their way. I have often seen them attempt to 
take a fish from the mouth of a seal when it arose to the surface and which the 
gull had been watching catch the fish. By the last of August one dark or 
young one is seen to every four or five adult or white ones, and later the propor- 
tion of the dark ones is much higher, as the adults begin to leave first. By the 
1st of October the migration is well advanced, and decreases daily until by the 
15th of October few remain, although the last of them do not leave until the 
last week of the month. They are the last of the migrants to leave in the falL 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 89 
DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Asiatic coasts of North Pacific and Bering Sea ; 
from northern Japan (Yezzo), Kurile Islands, Kamchatka, and 
shores of Sea of Okhotsk north to Gulf of Anadyr and vicinity of 
Bering Straits. The breeding record from Harrowby Bay, Arctic 
coast of Canada, appears to be authentic, although far outside of the 
known breeding range. 

Winter range. — So far as known, only from Japan to the Kurile 
Islands. 

Spring migration. — Migrants recorded at Commander Islands, 
Bering Island, April 20 to May 5 ; Copper Island, June 13 ; Sakhalin 
Island, May 11. They arrive on their breeding grounds in the 
Anadyr district by April 20. 

Fall migration. — During migration birds occur along the Alaskan 
coast, Diomede Islands, September ; off Nome, August 31 to Septem- 
ber 8 ; St. Michael, September 9 ; Port Clarence, Sakhalin Island, late 
September. The last birds leave the Anadyr district late in October. 

Casual records. — Stragglers have been recorded at Herald Island 
(Eidgway), Unalaska (Chernofsky Bay, October 1, 1880), and taken 
in Mackenzie (Franklin Bay, June 9, 1901). 

Egg dates. — Japan : Eight records, May 23 to June 18 ; four rec- 
ords, May 29 to June 15. 

LARUS OCCIDENTALIS Audubon. 

WESTERN GULL. 
HABITS. 

Along the numerous beaches of the California coast the dark-mantled 
western gull is the most conspicuous and the most universally abun- 
dant sea bird throughout the whole year, everywhere much in evi- 
dence and everywhere tame and familiar — a welcome visitor as a 
useful scavenger and a pretty feature in the seashore scenery. The 
immaculate purity of its snow-white plumage is kept spotlessly clean, 
in spite of its untidy feeding habits. As we see these beautiful black 
and white birds sailing along the ocean cliffs they seem to reflect 
the clear freshness of the beach and sea and sky; and as we see 
them walking daintily on their long legs over the clean sand it 
seems incongruous to associate them with the struggling screaming 
mob of hungry birds that we have just seen fighting for and gorging 
themselves on the refuse from the sewers or the garbage dumps. 

During my stay at Redondo Beach, in June, I spent considerable 
time watching these interesting and familiar birds. There were 
always plenty of them to be seen flying along the beach or resting 



90 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

in groups on the flat, smooth sand, adults and young in several dif- 
ferent stages of plumage, and generally a few Heermann's gulls 
were mingled with them. It was in the height of the breeding season 
and I wondered whether the adults had nests on the islands off the 
coast or were birds that were not breeding that season. Some of 
them were standing on one leg, with bills tucked under their scapu- 
lars, sound asleep ; but more of them were resting on their breasts. 
One old male seemed to be the boss of the beach and acted as a 
disturber of the peace by walking around, driving off the Heermann's 
gulls and waking up all the gulls that were asleep, making them 
move on, as a policeman does with loafers on a sidewalk. One was 
seen playing with a feather, picking it up, letting it blow away and 
running after it again, as if he enjoyed the fun. Occasionally one 
would walk down to the surf line to pick up a morsel of food, to 
drink or to bathe, and return to dry land to preen its feathers. 
They were tamer than any large gulls I had ever seen. I had no 
difficulty in shooting them, picking out the exact plumage that I 
wanted to complete my series. As soon as one was shot a flock 
gathered about me, hovering over my head with intimate curiosity ; 
and while walking along the beach with dead gulls in my hand 
there were always several following me, close at hand. Even about 
the much-frequented wharves they were very unsuspicious, standing 
on the posts and railings within 10 or 15 feet of numerous human 
beings, in whom they justly had perfect confidence, for they are 
never molested. About the fish houses, where men were cleaning 
fish, they were particularly familiar, standing in rows along the 
roofs, or on the stringers waiting for the offal to be thrown into 
the water. No one seemed to notice them at all, but to me it was 
a novel and interesting sight. 

There was a time when persistent egging on the Farallones was 
reducing the population of western gulls, but since that has been 
stopped they are increasing again. They are probably not much 
disturbed on their breeding grounds and are generally protected. 
Hence they have become familiar and useful birds on the coast, but 
they are more of a nuisance than ever on the islands where they do 
so much damage to other species. 

Spring. — As this gull is practically a resident throughout its 
range, it has no well-marked migration. The spring migration 
merely amounts to a concentration on its breeding grounds or a 
withdrawal, and only a partial one at that, from its somewhat wider 
winter range. In the southern portion of its breeding range in 
Lower California this occurs early in March, in southern California 
in April, and correspondingly later farther north. It retreats in the 
spring from the Puget Sound region to the northern limit of its 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 17 




Farallon Islands. 



O. J. Heinemann. 




Humboldt County, California. 



W. L. Dawson. 



Western Gull. 

For description see page 331. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 91 

breeding range in the bird reservations on the coast of Washington, 
where it mingles with the glaucous-winged gull at the southern limit 
of the latter's breeding range. 

Nesting. — Dawson (1909) says that the northernmost colony of 
unmixed occidentalis on the Washington coast is on Willoughby 
Rock, off Cape Elizabeth; "but scattered pairs occur, along with 
glaucous wings, as far up as Carroll Islet. 5 ' He says of its nesting 
habits : 

Nesting is undertaken in May, and by the 20th of that month, or by June 10 
at the latest, the complement of three eggs is laid. Nests are composed almost 
exclusively of dried grasses plucked by the birds, roots and all ; and these be- 
come quite substantial structures if the grass is convenient. Ledges, crannies, 
grassy hill sides, and the exposed summits of the rocks are alike utilized for 
nesting sites; while occasionally a bird ventures down so close to the tide line 
as to lose her eggs in time of storm. Chicks are brought off by the third week 
in June or by the 1st of July, according to season, if unmolested. If the first 
set is removed, however, the birds will prepare a second, consisting almost in- 
variably of two eggs, and these are deposited as likely as not in the same nest 
as the former set. Deposition occurs at intervals of two or three days. 

On the Three Arch Rocks, Oregon, Mr. W. L. Finley (1905) de- 
scribes the nesting of this species as follows : 

The gull picks out a comfortable spot and builds a respectable nest, and that 
is about the only creditable thing he does on the rock. The grass-covered roof 
of the island is his favorite nesting place, although many select the niches in 
the bare rock on the face of the cliff. The gull's eggs lie right out in the open 
and never seem to be bothered by other birds ; they themselves do not ravage 
the homes of their own kindred. The eggs are of dull earthy and chocolate- 
brown tints, with darker blotches, matching their surroundings so perfectly 
that we had to be constantly on the lookout to keep from stepping on them. 
When the eggs were hatched we found the nestlings were protected by equally 
deceptive clothes of a mottled gray color. 

The best known breeding grounds of the species are on the Faral- 
lon Islands, which have been well described by several writers. 
According to Mr. W. Otto Emerson, who sent some original notes on 
the subject to Major Bendire, the gulls begin building or repairing 
their old nests about May 1, and the nesting season is prolonged 
through May and June. The nests are built wholly of dry Farallon 
weed, Baeria maritima, the old nests being used year after year. 
After being robbed the birds soon begin laying again, and he noted, 
by watching a certain nest, that an egg was laid every other day. 

Mr. Milton S. Ray (1904) has given us the following good account 
of the Farallon colonies : 

While this bird builds in colonies, so to speak, they are not like those of the 
cormorant or murre. There is always fighting room between the nests, and 
only the aggregations near Shell Beach, Indian Head, and at Guano Slope on 
West End, and about Tower Point on East End, could well deserve this term. 



92 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Besides these places we found them breeding in scattered congregations all 
along the rocky terrace west of the Jordan, from the shore to the highest points. 
On the east, in addition to the rookery at Tower Point, we observed a dozen 
isolated nests at Bull Head Point, near Arch Rock, and about half that number 
right at the Weather Bureau observatory, where, rewarded for their confidence 
in man, they brooded unmolested. The great mass of driftwood, thrown up by 
winter storms, was a favorite spot in the Shell Beach rookery. We did not, 
however, observe any of these birds nesting off the main island. 

While they are somewhat wary, many allowed us to come quite close before 
rising from their nests. The latter are placed in natural basinlike hollows 
among the rocks, by which they are partially sheltered, although some were in 
the most open and windy situations. The nest is a bulky structure, composed 
of various dry island weeds and grasses, and has about as much claim to 
ingenuity as those of most sea birds. They vary little in size, averaging IS 
inches across, the cavity being 8 inches by 4 deep. About many of them I 
noticed small heaps of ejected fishbones. 

Mr. Brewster (1902) says of the nesting habits of this species in 
the Cape Eegion of Lower California: 

Mr. Frazar found a breeding colony of about 25 pairs on a small rocky 
island a little to the westward of Carmen Island. Most of the nests were only 
just begun, and but two contained eggs, one set, however, comprising the full 
complement of three. This was on March 13 — a date about two months earlier 
than that at which the first eggs are usually taken on the Farallon Islands near 
San Francisco. The next day another breeding ground was discovered on tlie 
northern end of the island of Montserrat. Here some 50 pairs had congregated. 
Few of their nests were finished and only eight contained eggs, the number in 
each set varying from one to three. At both of the places just mentioned the 
nests, which were made of seaweed, were built at the foot of the cliffs, just 
above high-water mark, and often in nooks or crevices. 

Although the nest may be frequently robbed and several sets of 
eggs may be laid, only one brood of young is raised in a season. The 
normal set consists of three eggs, though two eggs often constitute 
a full set in the later layings, and sometimes a single egg is incubated. 
Sets of four eggs are rare. 

Eggs. — The eggs of the western gull can not be distinguished with 
certainty from those of other gulls of similar size, and they are 
subject to the usual variations. The ground color is " buffy brown," 
" tawny olive," " cinnamon buff," " deep olive buff," or " pale olive 
buff." They are usually heavily spotted, blotched, or scrawled, more 
or less evenly, with " clove brown," " bister," " burnt umber," and 
various lighter shades of brown, as well as various shades of " Quaker 
drab " and " mouse gray." The measurements of 70 eggs, in various 
collections, average 72.4 by 50.4 millimeters; the eggs showing the 
four extremes measure 78 by 47, 73 by 53, 67.5 by 48 and 78 by 47 
millimeters. 

Young. — Mr. Emerson gives the period of incubation as 24 days. 
He says that both sexes take turns at the duties of incubation, but 
there are no set times for relieving each other. The bird which is 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. II 




Farallon Islands. 



O. J. Heinemann. 




Los Coronados Islands, California. 



Western Gull. 



D. R. Dickey. 



For description see page 33 1, 



LITE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 93 

off duty usually stands near the nest, on guard, slipping onto the 
rest when the sitting bird leaves. The young remain in the nest for 
a few days and are brooded by their parents, who are very bold and 
devoted in their defense. The young gulls soon learn to run about, 
becoming very lively, and are taught by their parents to become ex- 
perts in the art of hiding. Mr. Finley (1905) says: 

They teach their young to keep hidden and to lie close. I have seen more 
than one gull impress this upon her children. One day I was walking along 
a ledge and came abruptly to a place where I could look down the top slope. 
Below me a few yards I saw two half -grown gulls ; one crouched beside a rock, 
but the other started to run down the ridge He hadn't gone 2 yards before 
the mother dove at him with a blow that knocked him rolling. He got up 
dazed and struck off in a new direction, but she swooped again and rapped 
him on the head till he seemed glad enough to crawl in under the nearest 
weed. 

Occasionally we found the gulls very pugnacious. There was one mother 
that had a nest of three young birds on a narrow ledge, and every time the 
photographer approached her nest she would dart at him. She swooped at 
his head with a loud bark, something like a watchdog ; at 6 or 8 feet distant she 
dropped her legs and took a sharp clip with her feet. Twice she knocked the 
hat from the intruder's head. 

Mr. Dawson (1909) visited a colony of this species in July and 
found that: 

Young birds, from infants to those half grown, were in hiding everywhere. 
The danger sign had, of course, been passed around, and not a youngster on 
the island but froze in his tracks, no matter where he happened to be. It 
was pathetic to find, as I did now and then, babes soaking heroically in the 
filthy green pools left in hollows of the rocks by ancient rains rather than 
attract attention by scrambling out. One youngster had evidently been nibbling 
playfully at a bit of driftwood cast high up, for I found him with the stick 
between his mandibles as motionless as a Pompeian mummy. 

So bold and solicitous were the anxious mothers in the defense of 
their young that he was struck three times upon the head, always 
from behind, by vicious beaks while engaged in gathering up babies 
for a picture. 

The young gulls are fed at first on semidigested foods, but their 
parents soon begin to feed them on small fish and other animal 
food. They become more omnivorous in their diet as they grow older, 
and are very voracious feeders. Their parents keep watchful guard 
over them until they are able to fly and will not let them attempt 
this hazardous feat until the proper time comes. Mr. A. B. Howell 
has noted that " if when full grown but still timid on their wings, 
they are thrown into the air, they will essay unsteady flight and are 
sure to be pounced upon by their elders, who, for some reason or 
other, knock the youngsters heels over head as long as they remain in 
the air " — a decided hint that the time for flight has not arrived. 



94 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Plumages. — The downy young is "drab gray" above variegated 
with " avellaneous " or other shades of buff. Some individuals are 
grayer and others are brighter buff in color. The lower parts are 
lighter colored, paling to " tilleul buff " on the center of the breast ; 
sometimes the breast is bright, clear, " avellaneous " buff in newly 
hatched young, the colors fading as the youngster grows. The back 
is heavily spotted with " fuscous black," and the head and throat 
with pure black. 

By the time that it is fully grown, at an age of about 2 months, 
the young bird has assumed its ju venal or first real plumage, in 
which it is heavily mottled above with "hair brown" and pale 
" avellaneous " ; the feathers of the lower back and the scapulars are 
" clove brown " centrally, broadly edged with " avellaneous " or 
" wood brown " ; the cheeks are plain " hair brown " ; and the crown 
is " hair brown " streaked with " light buff." This plumage is worn 
but a short time and is replaced in the fall by the first winter 
plumage, which is acquired by a partial molt, involving part, or 
perhaps all, of the contour feathers, but not the wings and tail. I 
am inclined to think that part of this change is effected by wear and 
fading of the brown edgings. 

The first winter plumage, deep blackish brown, mottled with gray- 
ish white, with the uniform dark primaries and rectrices, and with 
the bill wholly dusky, is worn throughout the first year or until the 
first postnuptial molt, when the bird is about 13 or 14 months old. 
A complete molt then occurs, at which time the slaty blue mantle 
is, at least partially, acquired, and the bill becomes yellow on the 
basal half. The new primaries are still wholly black and the tail 
wholly black or mottled with white near the base. The contour 
feathers or head and underparts are still mottled with dusky, but 
become lighter during the year by wear and fading. There is much 
brown still remaining in the wing-coverts. During the second spring 
there is a steady advance toward maturity, with great individual 
variation, the molt beginning as early as April in some cases. At 
this second postnuptial molt, which is complete, the wings of the 
adult, with black primaries tipped with white, are acquired, but there 
is sometimes more or less brown in the wing coverts ; the tail becomes 
white with a subterminal black bar; the white body plumage ap- 
pears, though it is much clouded with dusky in the fall; and the 
bill still remains dark at the tip. The fully adult plumage seems 
to be acquired perhaps a year later, when the bird is 3 years of age; 
this, of course, is characterized by the pure white tail and the yellow 
bill. Some birds, otherwise adult, during the fourth winter, have 
more or less dusky mottling in the tail, and some lack the subapical 
white spot, or have only a small one, on the outer primary. As these 
birds and those with the black-banded tail and brown wing coverts 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 95 

are comparatively rare, it may be that these are merely backward 
or less vigorous birds, and that normally vigorous birds acquire 
their fully adult plumage when 3 years old. I am inclined to think 
that this is so, but, as I am not sure of it, I have given what seem 
to be the facts in the case. The seasonal molts of the adult consist 
of a complete postnuptial molt in the summer and a partial molt 
about the head and neck in the spring. In spite of statements in 
some of the books to the contrary, adults have the heads streaked 
with dusky in the fall, which markings disappear by wear or fading, 
or perhaps by molt, before spring. 

Food. — Before the encroachments of civilization gave the western 
gull an easy way of earning its living as a scavenger, its principal 
food supply was gleaned from the sea; it followed the schools of 
small fish in flocks, hovering, screaming, and struggling for its prey 
in strenuous competition. When its appetite was satisfied a game of 
tag sometimes ensued, such as Mr. J. H. Bowles (1909) described as 
follows : 

One catches a herring, and instead of eating it flies with the fish hanging 
from its bill, past three or four comrades. These accept the challenge and rush 
madly after, while the pursued goes through all sorts of evolutions in seeking 
to elude them. If overtaken, the order of chase is reversed, and the game 
goes merrily on until all are tired. The fish, or tag trophy, is not eaten but is 
dropped upon the playground in a condition decidedly the worse for wear. 

Although fish still form a large part of its food, especially about 
its breeding grounds, it is primarily a scavenger, like the other 
large gulls, and has learned to frequent harbors and populated 
shores, where it can easily gorge itself on the garbage dumping 
grounds, pick up unsavory morsels at the outlets of sewers, and feed 
on whatever refuse it can find scattered along the beaches. It also 
follows vessels to pick up whatever scraps of food are thrown over- 
board. It feeds at low tide on the sand flats, mud banks, river 
shores, and mussel beds, where it finds dead fish, clams, seaworms, 
dead rats, or any kind of fresh animal food or carrion. It under- 
stands how to break the shells of a clam or a sea urchin by flying up 
into the air with it and dropping it on hard ground or on a rock, 
sometimes making several attempts before succeeding. 

Mr. Walter E. Bryant (1888) says of its feeding habits: 

The gulls are indiscriminate feeders; in addition to their usual articles of 
diet, they subsist largely upon eggs during the summer. They do not eat the 
eggs of their own species, nor do they trouble the cormorants after the murres 
have commenced laying. Sea-urchins, crabs, young murres, and rabbits, and 
fish stolen from the cormorants' nests are eaten. Not being quick enough to 
swoop upon the rabbits they catch them by patient watching at their burrows, 
and will patiently try for 15 minutes to swallow a squealing young rabbit, and 
finally fly away with the hind feet protruding. The dead bodies of murres are 
also eaten ; they detach pieces of flesh by backing away and dragging the 
body, meanwhile shaking their heads, till a piece breaks off. 



96 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Perhaps the most important food supply of the western gull on 
its breeding grounds consists of the eggs of other birds, near which 
it almost always nests. The sagacity displayed by the gulls in 
taking advantage of the human egg hunters is well described by 
Dr. A. L. Heermann (1859) as follows: 

At 1 o'clock every day, during the egg season. Sundays and Thursdays ex- 
cepted (this is to give the birds some little respite), the egg hunters meet on 
the south side of the island. The roll is called to see that all are present, 
that each one may have an equal chance in gathering the spoil. The signal 
is given, every man starting off at a full run for the most productive egging 
grounds. The gulls understanding, apparently, what is about to occur, are on 
the alert, hovering overhead and awaiting only the advance of the party. 
The men rush eagerly into the rookeries; the affrighted murres have scarcely 
risen from their nests before the gull, with remarkable instinct, not to say 
almost reason, flying but a few paces ahead of the hunter, alights on the 
ground, tapping such eggs as the short time will allow before the egger comes 
up with him. The broken eggs are passed by the men, who remove only 
those which are sound. The gull then returning to the field of its exploits, 
procures a plentiful supply of its favorite food. 

I have repeatedly seen this gull drink salt water, and I believu 
that all ocean gulls do so, though I have heard it stated that they 
prefer fresh water. They do not, however, like their food too salt, 
as the following instance, related by Mr. A. W. Anthony (1906) 
will illustrate: 

I was one day watching some western gulls, a few yards from me on a wharf, 
when a large piece of salted fish was thrown out from an adjacent boathouse. 
It fairly glistened with a thick incrustation of salt, and I was somewhat 
curious to see if the gulls would eat food so highly seasoned. No sooner had 
it fallen than it was seized upon by a gull and as quickly swallowed ; but from 
the surprised actions of the bird it was evidently not to his liking; no sooner 
had it reached the stomach than it was ordered out again. Dropping the fish 
on the wharf the bird eyed it for a moment, turning its head from side to side, 
and, to .iudge from its soliloquy, made a number of uncomplimentary remarks 
on the depraved tastes of mankind that would spoil good fish in that manner. 
Then picking up the fish it flew down to the water, and holding it under the 
surface shook its head from side to side violently " sozzeling " the meat about 
for several seconds. It was then taken back to the wharf, laid down and in- 
spected, and carefully sampled; this time, however, it was not bolted as at 
first, but held for a moment in the mouth and again rejected, and carried back 
to the water, where it was even more roughly laundered. This operation was 
repeated several times; and the piece of fish, which must have weighted 4 
ounces at the outset, was reduced to half that size before it reached a state of 
freshness that suited the palate of the gull. 

Behavior. — The flight of the western gull is not unlike that of 
other closely related species; it has the same power of sailing directly 
into the wind, or within a few points of it, on motionless wings. I 
have seen it travel for long distances in this manner without any 
apparent effort. It also has the same soaring habits as other large 
gulls, rising to great heights and circling about on outstretched 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 97 

pinions, as if enjoying the exercise. While soaring it occasionally 
preens the feathers of its breast with its bill or raises one foot to 
scratch its head, without losing its poise. Once, while sailing before 
a strong wind, almost a gale, a lot of these gulls were following us 
to pick scraps of food which we were throwing overboard; it was 
necessary for them to face the wind and drift along tail foremost, so 
as to keep pace with our boat ; they were not sailing or drifting, but 
were maintaining their positions by constant flapping and were ap- 
parently flying backwards. While flying the feet are extended back- 
wards and buried in the plumage, but when about to alight they are 
dropped and spread. A sudden descent from a considerable height 
is quickly accomplished by a spiral or a zigzag glide, on half ex- 
tended wings, with frequent quick tipping from side to side. 

The cries and call notes of this gull are much like those of other 
species. Mr. Charles A. Keeler (1892) has given a good descrip- 
tion of them, as fellows : 

Their most common note may be expressed by the syllables quock kuck kuck 
kuck, uttered very rapidly in a low, guttural tone. Sometimes it was varied 
thus kuck kuck kuck ka, the quality of tone being the same as in the first 
instance. Frequently a higher cry would be heard, which may be indicated by 
the letters ki aa, with a strong accent on the first syllable. Again, one would 
utter a rattling, guttural cry, which sounded like a man being throttled. 

The behavior of western gulls toward their neighbors is truly 
scandalous. They must be cordially hated and seriously dreaded by 
the various species among which they nest, for they are arrant 
thieves, ever on the alert to improve every opportunity to steal and 
devour any unprotected eggs or young which they can find. They 
usually select a breeding place among nesting colonies of cormorants, 
murres, or pelicans, chiefly because they can there find an abundant 
food supply in the nests of their peaceful neighbors. Cormorants, 
being rather shy, are easily driven from their nests by human in- 
truders and do not readily return, so that the gulls often succeed in 
cleaning out a whole colony. Eternal vigilance is the price of suc- 
cess in rearing a brood with such rogues roaming about and looking 
for the slightest chance. The cormorants and pelicans have to sit 
on their eggs constantly from the day they are laid, or the gulls will 
get them. This will account for the fact that the young in the nests 
of these species are often of widely differently ages. Even the young 
have to be constantly brooded, for the gulls will swallow the smallest 
young whole and mutilate or beat to death the larger ones. Mr. 
A. W. Anthony (1906) has graphically described this perforance as 
follows : 

The advent of man in the region of a cormorant rookery is hailed with de- 
light by every gull on the island, but to the poor cormorant it is a calamity of 
the darkest hue. As the frightened birds leave the nests, which have so far 
never been for a moment left without the protection of at least one of the 



98 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

parents, the screaming gulls descend in swarms to break and eat the eggs or 
kill the young, as the case may be. Small cormorants are bolted entire, despite 
their somewhat half-hearted protest ; larger birds are dismembered by two gulls 
assisting in the operation, after the well-known manner of barnyard chicks 
with a worm ; and before the adult cormorants have recovered from their fright 
and returned to protect their homes a colony of several hundred nests will be 
almost destroyed. I have found young western gulls feasting on cormorant 
squabs half a mile or more from the nests from which they had been abducted. 

Mr. A. B. Howell writes: 

These robbers are surely the pest of their range during the spring months. 
When the pelicans and cormorants are flushed from their nests, down comes a 
devastating army of the marauders, spearing the eggs with their bills and 
neatly devouring them on the wing, pecking holes in the skulls of the young 
pelicans for the fun of it, and bolting the shiny cormorant chicks with a great 
gulping and show of satisfaction. A favorite pastime of theirs is to pester a 
half grown pelican until the latter relinquishes his last meal as a peace offering, 
and this the gulls greedily fight over. The gulls themselves have few enemies, 
except man, and now that egging has been practically stopped they are free to 
increase and flourish. 

Winter. — After the breeding season is over and the young gulls 
have become strong on the wing, they begin to scatter and spread 
out all along the coast, extending the winter range of the species 
northward to Puget Sound, where it is one of the common winter 
gulls. They are given to wandering at this season, following the ves- 
sels up and down the coast, chasing schools of fish, feasting on the 
garbage dumps, roosting on the islands at night, and associating 
freely with other species of gulls, cormorants, pelicans, and other sea 
birds. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Pacific coast of North America, from British 
Columbia and Washington (various islands off the coast) southward 
along the coasts of Oregon, California, and Lower California, on 
nearly all suitable islands, at least as far as Cerros and Guadalupe 
Islands; also in the Gulf of California (San Pedro Martir, Ildefonso, 
and Carmen Islands). 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservations : 
In California, Farallon Islands; in Oregon, Three Arch Rocks; 
in Washington, Copalis Rock and Quillayute Needles, as Carroll 
Islet. 

Winter range. — Practically resident throughout its breeding range. 
North in winter to British Columbia and south to southwestern 
Mexico (Isabella and Tres Marias Islands, Tepic). 

Egg dates. — Farallon Islands: Fifty-five records, May 12 to July 
10 ; twenty-eight records, June 3 to 24. Coronados Islands : Ten rec- 
ords, May 6 to June 30 ; five records, May 11 to June 4. Washington : 
Seven records, June 3 to July 12 ; four records, June 3 to 14. Gulf of 
California : Three records, April 5, 6, and 7. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. \)\) 
LARUS FUSCUS AFFINIS Reinhardt. 
BRITISH LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. 
HABITS. 

The Siberian gull is no longer entitled to a place on our list, which 
it has held ever since the type specimen of Larus affinis was taken 
in Greenland and described by Reinhardt. The lesser black-backed 
gull of Europe and Asia has been subdivided into three subspecies — 
Larus fuscus fuscus Linnaeus of northern Europe, Scandinavia, 
etc.; Larus fuscus affinis Reinhardt of the British Isles, Faroes, 
and Greenland; and Larus fuscus antelius Iredale of Siberia. Rein- 
hardt's bird, the type of Larus affinis and the bird which occurs as 
a straggler in Greenland was, until recently, supposed to be of the 
Siberian form. But Iredale has recently examined Reinhardt's type 
specimen and found it to be referable to the British form, the well- 
known lesser black-backed gull. He therefore gave a new name 
to the Siberian form, which necessitated the above rearrangement 
of the group, and makes it necessary for us to eliminate the Siberian 
gull from our list and enter in place of it the British lesser black- 
backed gull (Larus fuscus affinis Reinhardt). 

Nesting. — This well-known gull occurs in Great Britain, both as 
migrant and as a resident, throughout the year. Much has been 
written about its habits. Dr. Henry O. Forbes (1898) writes of its 
breeding habits : 

In May the lesser black-backed gulls select their nesting place, betaking them- 
selves, as Macgillivray states, " to unfrequented islands, headlands, and some- 
times inland lakes (and mosses), often in considerable numbers, and there 
remain until their young are able to fly, although they make extensive ex- 
cursions around in search of food." On the Teifi Bog, in mid- Wales, about 
12 miles from the sea, the nests are placed " on slight hillocks, generally in 
deep heather, the vicinity, with trampled grass and scattered feathers, being 
suggestive of a goose green" (Salter). "In Hoy (in the Orkneys) anyone," 
writes Mr. Moodie-Heddle to Harvie-Brown, " can create a breeding place of 
the lesser black-backed gull by burning a large tract late in the season; the 
gulls then come on the bare ground (through the following summer and 
autumn) to catch moths and winged insects, which have no heather left to go 
down into. They then usually begin to breed on the tufts of white moss left 
unburnt the following season. The breeding places by the water of Hoy and 
down to Pegal Burn were thus formed by accidental fires. No gulls bred 
there for many years before, and we could kill 60 to 70 brace more grouse. 

In Iona, Mr. Graham notes that this gull made its nest on the flat, marshy 
summits of all the lesser islands. The nest is sometimes on the bare rock, but 
more often on a grassy slope, if such exist near. The most remarkable situa- 
tion for a nest, perhaps, is that cited by Doctor Sharpe, which was placed in 
the middle of a sheep track, and the sheep, in passing to and fro, had to jump 
over the back of the sitting bird. This nest (with its four eggs) is now in the 
British Museum. 



100 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

This species breeds in colonies, which in some places are very large, when 
their nests are placed so close to each other, that it is by no means easy to 
traverse their nursery without treading upon either the eggs or young. The 
nest, if on the ground, is little more than a scraped out hollow in the ground, 
lined with grass, seaweed, or herbage of any kind within reach ; if on a rock, 
a larger pile of the same substances is built up in the selected niche or ledge. 
It is not at all uncommon to find the herring gull nesting in close proximity to 
it, only, however, in the more inaccessible ledges or summits. Three eggs are 
laid as a rule — four occasionally, sometimes only two — which vary very greatly 
in size, shape, and color. Many of them are hardly, if ever certainly, to be 
distinguished from those of the herring gull. They vary in size from 2§ 
to 3 inches in length, by 1§ to 2 in diameter. Ground color, from very pale gray, 
through olive-brown to greenish-blue or chocolate-brown, spotted and blotched, 
often more abundantly at the greater end, with black or dark brown. From 
the end of May, through June and into July, eggs and chicks of all stages and 
ages may be found. 

Eggs. — Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain has sent ine the following measure- 
ments of eggs of this gull from the British Isles : Eighty eggs aver- 
age 68.04 by 47.39 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes 
measure 77.1 by 49, 72.5 by 52.1,' 58.6 by 45 and 61.3 by 43 milli- 
meters. 

Young. — Doctor Forbes (1898) says of the young: 

After about three weeks' incubation the chicks break through their prison, as 
lively and nimble balls of down, grayish-buff above, with the head, neck, and 
back spotted with brown; the under side paler and unspotted. On the least 
intrusion on their cubicle they are ready to be off — running, as Mr. Battye 
remarks, head down and shoulders up like a falcon — to the nearest herbage or 
water for security; but if left undisturbed they may be found for a fortnight 
or more in the nest, most assiduously tended by the parents. The approach of 
any intruder when the helpless young are in the nests is the signal to set the 
whole of the colony on wing, wheeling round his head, swooping down upon 
and screaming at him. 

Plumages. — When fledged, the bill, legs, and feet are livid corneous. The 
feathers, which are white in the adult, have a center streak, or a bar of ashy- 
brown, and pale edges; and where black they are reddish-brown, with yellowish- 
white edges. The wing feathers are sooty or black, and the tail is mottled with 
brown, which, near the end, becomes almost a continuous bar, the tips of the 
feathers being grayish-white; the bill is horn color, and the legs and feet 
brownish-white. 

During its first autumn the bird undergoes no true molt, but the brown 
becomes less marked in some parts by loss of pigment, and more uniform 
through the wearing off of the pale tips. In the next spring there is a more 
general but slow molt, in which the brown comes in of a less deep shade, and 
during the second autumn its color becomes a little paler still. During the next 
year, in spring and autumn by feather-changes, and loss of pigment in them, 
the brown is still further lost ; bill yellow at its base, but without the red spot 
on the angle of the mandible. 

In the fourth autumn this gull has assumed almost the complete winter dress 
of the adult — the white spot near the end of the primaries perhaps alone not 
being well marked. The following spring, when the bird is in its fifth year, 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 101 

sees it in its first nuptial plumage. As soon as that interesting period is over 
the gull begins to assume its first mature winter garb, which differs only from 
that of the summer in showing brown streaks on the head and neck. 

Behavior. — Macgiilivray (1852) writes: 

The flight of this bird is peculiarly elegant, resembling, however, that of the 
greater black-backed gull, but more easy and buoyant, with the wings consider- 
ably curved. Its ordinary cry is loud, mellow, and somewhat plaintive, and when 
a number join in emitting it, which they sometimes do, when assembled for 
repose on an unfrequented beach or island,. may be heard at a great distance and 
is then far from being unpleasant. It also emits occasionally a cackling or 
laughing cry, more mellow than that of the species above named. It searches 
for food on the open sea, in estuaries, on the beaches, and frequently on the 
land, sometimes flying to a great distance from the coast. Small fishes, Crus- 
tacea, echini, shellfish, land mollusca, and earthworms are its habitual food, but 
it also eats of stranded fishes and devours young birds. When shoals of young 
herrings are in the bays, creeks, or estuaries it may often be seen in great num- 
bers, intermingled with other gulls; but when reposing, whether on the sea or 
on land, it generally keeps separate in small flocks. 

Doctor Forbes (1898) adds the following: 

Mr. Thompson notes that this gull is very fond of ascending rivers, as well 
as visiting inland lakes. Several of these birds may be seen, in winter and 
spring, in the river Lagan as far as the first fall above the sea, where the canal 
commences, the snowy whiteness and pure black of their plumage contrasting 
finely with the background of dark foliage of the river banks. On one occa- 
sion [continues the same naturalist] I observed an adult bird fishing * * * 
high up the Lagan, * * * while soon afterwards two immature birds flew 
up the course of the river until they joined him. They were no doubt the 
bearers of some particular intelligence, as immediately on their reaching the 
old bird he wheeled about and the three proceeded with their utmost speed 
down the river. In like manner I once observed several of the black-headed 
gulls feeding in a ploughed field, half a mile from the shore of the bay, whence 
a single bird flew direct to them; the moment it arrived they all wheeled 
about, and, with their best speed, made for the bay, where it was low water 
at the time. They were not in any way alarmed in the field; the courier 
seemed to convey some special news. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — The British Isles from the Faroes to the Chan- 
nel Islands, on the coasts of France and probably Spain; south to 
Alboran Island off Morocco. From the Scandinavian Peninsula 
eastward it is represented by another subspecies. 

Winter range. — From the British Isles south to the western Medi- 
terranean, the Canary and Madeira Islands, and the west coast of 
Africa. 

Casual records. — The type specimen was taken in Greenland, which 
is the only North American record. 



102 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

LARUS ARGENTATUS Pontoppidan. 
HERRING GULL. 

HABITS. 

Contributed by Charles Weridell Townsend. 

The most widely distributed sea gull of the Northern Hemisphere 
and the one that is best known because it frequents the haunts of 
man, visiting his most populous harbors,, is the herring gull. But 
slightly inferior in size to the great black-backed and burgomaster 
gulls, it is distinguished from the former by its pearly gray back 
and from the latter by the black tips to its wings. Not only is it a 
bird familiar to those dwelling along the seacoast and to the voyagers 
on the ocean, but it is found about lakes and rivers. Owing to better 
protection given to breeding colonies, which were formerly systemati- 
cally robbed of their eggs, and to the fact that the birds are not 
molested in the neighborhood of large cities, the herring gull has not 
only held its own, but is undoubtedly on the increase. 

Circumpolar in distribution the herring gull breeds from Elles- 
mere Land to Manitoba aiid Maine, and in Europe to northern 
France and the White Sea. It winters wherever there is open water 
throughout its range, and as far south as Cuba and the Mediter- 
ranean Sea. In northern regions the return of open water in the 
spring often determines the arrival of these gulls as well as of other 
water birds. An interesting example of this is shown in the case of 
Cobalt Lake, Ontario, where a constant stream of hot water flows 
into the lake from the silver mines. As a consequence the ice leaves 
sometimes as much as two weeks earlier than it does in any of the 
surrounding lakes. Arthur A. Cole (1910) reports that in 1910 "the 
lake opened on March 31, and within 24 hours two herring gulls were 
seen floating in the lake." 

On the eastern coast of the United States the herring gull spends 
not only the winter but also the summer to a considerable distance 
to the south of its breeding range, the most southern point of which 
is No-Man's-Land in Penobscot Bay, Maine. 1 In southern Maine 
and on the New Hampshire and Massachusetts coasts it is difficult to 
state the dates of migration, for the birds is always to be found there. 

Courtship. — In the spring one may often see on a sand bar some of 
the herring gulls walking proudly about raising and lowering their 
heads and emitting from time to time loud sonorous notes, a bugle 
call which I believe to be their love song, while others stand quietly 
by. As this song is given the head, with wide-open bill, is raised 
until it points vertically upwards and then lowered to the horizontal 

1 A few herring gulls have recently bred near Marthas Vineyard. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 19 




Heron Island, Maine. 



A. C. Bent. 




Little Spoon Island, Maine. 



Herring Gull. 

For description see page 331. 



A. C. Bent. 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 103 

position. As the sex can not be distinguished one may only guess 
that it is the males that are thus parading themselves. At this time 
of year, more than at other times, they are frequently to be seen chas- 
ing each other in the air, and that too without the object of stealing 
coveted food morsels. Mr. Ralph Hoffman reports seeing a pair of 
these birds bowing to each other at Ipswich beach just prior to the 
act of mating. On the ground they sometimes seize each other by the 
bills and strike with the wings and feet. H. L. Ward (1906) de- 
scribes an action on the part of the gulls which suggested to him the 
dance of the albatross at Laysan. He says : 

Two adults may be standing near together, when one will stop, hold its neck 
nearly horizontal, its bill pointed down, wave its head in and out from its 
body, and slightly up and down, in a rapid, jerky way, reminding one somewhat 
of the motions of a duck feeding in shallow water, at the same time emitting 
a peculiar chickenlike chatter. The other one immediately joins in, apparently 
directing its attention to the same place in the ground, and the performance 
is kept up for a minute or two, when the birds straighten up, perhaps to 
repeat the operation two or three times with short intermissions. 

Nesting. — The herring gull breeds in small or large colonies, but 
always in the neighborhood of some body of water — a river, lake, or 
the sea. Single nests are rare, and usually point to the breaking 
up and scattering of a colony, for the herring gull is a very social 
creature and prefers to nest, feed, rest, and sleep in companies. 
Mr. Brewster in 1881 found many of the herring gulls on the south- 
ern coast of Labrador nesting in widely scattered regions, and says 
(1883) "the policy of scattering over wide areas, however, probably 
preserves the majority of nests from discovery." 

At the Duck Islands off the coast of Maine is a large breeding 
colony which has been protected for some years. Previously the 
colony was despoiled of eggs every year by fishermen, and many 
of the birds had acquired the habit of nesting in trees, where they 
were less likely to be robbed. Herring gulls have resorted to trees 
as nesting sites when disturbed by man in places other than these 
Duck Islands. Audubon (1840) in 1833 found the gulls nesting in 
fir trees on Grand Manan Island. He was informed that the habit 
had been acquired within the recollection of those living there, and 
that previously they had nested on the ground. Dr. Henry Bryant 
visited the same locality in 1856 and found that fewer were building 
in trees than in Audubon's time — a fact he attributes to greater 
freedom from persecution. Barrows (1912) says that he has never 
known herring gulls to nest in trees in the Great Lakes region. 
When I visited the Duck Island in 1904 the birds under protection 
had returned with few exceptions to the normal habit of nesting on 
the ground. 

174785—21 8 



104 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Maj. G. Ralph Mayer, United States Army, contributes the fol- 
lowing description of the nesting colony at Great Duck Island, 
Maine, which he visited on June 20, 1913 : 

Great Duck Island is about 2 miles long and from three-fourths to 1 mile 
wide at its greatest width. The gulls' nesting ground extends clear across the 
island in the open rocky ground and even back into the edge of the woods 
among the second or third growth. The nests are placed almost anywhere, 
though usually against a tree trunk or stump. Some are placed among the 
rocks along the shore. There are three nesting trees on the island. The 
greater part of the nesting ground has a peculiar soil of rotten vegetable 
matter and is thickly scattered over with dead trees, standing and fallen. 
There are probably 4,000 pairs of birds nesting on Great Duck. Little Duck 
Island, which is about 1 mile north of Great Duck, is the home of about 6,000 
pairs of the birds. 

The nests, as a general rule, are very rough looking structures, though there 
are some exceptions. The shape and size varies considerably with the location. 
The materials used were varied. In one part of the island where chickweed 
was plentiful this was used to the exclusion of all other materials excepting a 
few sticks for the base of the nest. On the higher ground the predominating 
materials were chips and pieces of the dead and rotten trees in the vicinity. 
Some nests were lined with grasses or feathers; others had no lining what- 
ever, but were more like mere beds of chips and decayed vegetable matter. In 
the walls of one nest I found a bristle brush of the kind used in washing 
bottles. The tree nests were composed of branches and were lined with grasses. 
Several nests found in the woods on Little Duck were composed of sticks and 
were lined with mosses, principally Usnea longissima, which was very plentiful 
in the vicinity. These were the best constructed nests I found. In all cases 
they were larger than those in the open. Mr. Gray, the head light keeper, told 
me that this was the first year he had seen them nesting in the heavy timber. 

The birds are quite bold in the defense of their breeding grounds. I have 
repeatedly seen them drive sheep and lambs from the vicinity of the nest, and 
only once did I see the sheep offer any resistance whatever, and in that case 
she very quickly decided that it was better to leave the vicinity. On two 
occasions I was charged by the birds. They did not touch me, but would swoop 
down straight at me until from 15 to 25 feet from me and directly overhead, 
when they would go up almost vertically and circling back, repeat the per- 
formance. When passing overhead they would utter their piercing " kee-ew." 
It was really exciting at times to see the bird heading directly at me and 
coming so fast. Mr. Gray told me that they made little attempt, however, to 
defend their nests against the crows, and that in some years a great deal of 
damage was done in this way. I watched the birds for some time from a tent. 
My notes show that six minutes after I entered the tent the birds had quieted 
down. I noticed one bird picking up nesting material several times, but it 
appeared to be a nervous action rather than a desire to collect nest material. 
Several times the birds had fights, in which each got hold of the other's bill 
and pulled. 

The following, taken from my notebook, was written about 5 p. m. on a 
clear, bright day: 

This is one of the most wonderful sights I have ever witnessed. The air 
is literally full of gulls. In sight there must be at least 4,000 gulls and all 
screaming. It is a weird sound. The air is so full of them that it looks like 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 20 




Seal Island, Nova Scotia. 



A. C. Bent. 




Heron Island, Maine. 



Herring Gull. 

For description see page 331. 



A. C. Bent. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 105 

a snowstorm. They are perched on the trees and standing on the ground, 
where they resemble nothing so much as a national cemetery with its thou- 
sands of white stones. When I first arrived at Great Duck the birds did not 
appear to mind my walking around among the nests so much as they did later 
on. When I entered the nesting ground the birds within 50 to 100 feet of me 
would rise and fly around, calling. Later on during my stay the birds within 
200 to 250 feet would rise. This may have been due to the fact that young 
were hatching out every day. 

On the ground the nests are placed in hollows or in plain sight on 
sand or gravel or rocks, or in grassy fields. Sometimes they are 
placed at the foot of stumps or close to an overhanging rock or pile 
of driftwood ; sometimes on the ground in thick spruce woods. They 
also nest on ledges on the face of cliffs, as at the Gaspe Peninsula. 
A. H. Jordan (1888) found a few nests on an island in Lake Cham- 
plain, where the birds were much persecuted, " quite well concealed 
in the edge of the woods under low-hanging trees." An unusual 
nesting site of the herring gull is mentioned by F. S. Daggett (1890) , 
who found on Isle Royale in Lake Superior four nests of this bird 
built on the ice accumulated on the rocks by the dashing of the waves 
in winter. A few warm days had already so melted the ice that 
the nests with their contents were in danger of falling into the lake. 
He also speaks of nests made in hollows in the accumulated droppings 
of the bird. 

Dutcher and Bailey (1903) say: 

During incubation the weight of the sitting bird breaks down or packs the 
nest so they are continually being repaired and built up around the edges 
with new material, which is always green grass or weeds, the effect being 
very pretty indeed. On several occasions gulls were seen gathering this 
material in their bills. The grass is bitten off or pulled up by the roots until 
the bird has a ball in its bill larger than a man's fist. This material is gathered 
where it is most plentiful and is usually carried by flight to the nest site. 

Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway (1884) describe a nest built in the 
top of a spruce, 60 feet from the ground, at Grand Manan, which 
was firmly built and " composed entirely of long, fine, flexible grasses, 
evidently gathered, when green, from the salt marshes, and carefully 
woven into a circular fabric. The nest measured about 18 inches in 
diameter, its sides being 3 or 4 inches thick, and its cavity at the 
center at least 4 inches deep." Ward (1906) observed incipient nest 
building at Gravel Island in Lake Michigan, and says that "there 
seemed to be no attempt to arrange the material with the bill," but 
that the bird molded the nest with her breast. 

Dutcher and Bailey found at Duck Island, Maine, the average 
depth of the bowl to be 3 inches and its diameter 10 inches. The 
diameter of the nests at the base varied from 13 to 24 inches ; they 
are sometimes built up to a height of 10 inches. Maj. G. Ralph 



106 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Meyer found that the size of the nests at the Duck Islands varied 
greatly. He writes : 

The average of seven nests was : Outer diameter, 15 inches ; inner diameter, 
8 inches; depth outside, 4f inches; depth inside, 31 inches. Ore nest in the 
heavy timber measured 22 by 8 by 6 by 5. One of the tree nests was 28 inches 
in diameter. 

Eggs. — Only one brood is raised, but when the nests are frequently 
robbed the birds are kept laying all summer. Three eggs constitute 
a set, although the number is sometimes only two, and in very rare 
cases one or four. The color of the eggs varies within wide limits. 
Dutcher and Bailey, from an examination of many hundreds at 
Duck Island, Maine, found that : 

The ground colors were light sky blue, dead blue, light blue-gray, light gray- 
blue, dark lilac-gray, light gray, light pea-green, green drab, warm drab, ocher 
drab, pink drab, light brown, and cinnamon. The colors of the markings were choc- 
olate brown, rich brown, light brown, snuff brown, asphalt, black, lilac, mauve. 
The shape of markings was almost infinite — large and small spots, indistinct 
specks, blotches, lines, and irregular streaks, somewhat like the markings on 
the eggs of blackbirds. One egg was found with a light sky-blue ground color 
with tiny indistinct specks of lilac and light brown. Some of the markings 
were so confluent that they resulted in a distinct line around the egg. 

Major G. Ralph Meyer writes : 

The eggs varied greatly in shape, size, and color. Eggs were found varying 
from short ovate to cylindrical ovate. The most common shape was the 
elongate ovate. 

The measurements of 45 eggs, in the United States National 
Museum and by Major Meyer, average 72.3 by 50.5 millimeters; the 
eggs showing the four extremes measure 82 by 52, 74.5 by 53 and 
58 by 45 millimeters. 

Young. — The period of incubation varies from 24 to 28 days, the 
average being 26 days. Dutcher and Bailey found an interval of 
about 12 hours between the hatching of each egg. Dutcher and 
Bailey (1903) show conclusively that in some cases at least both 
sexes incubate. They say: 

It was also observed that as the period of incubation neared its end the 
anxiety of the parents increased in a marked degree, so that it was easy to 
determine the stage of incubation by the action of the parents. During the last 
few hours, before the pipping and cracking of the egg, the parent birds were so 
fearless that they would leave the nest only on a near approach. 

Several observers have found that the eggs were turned slightly by 
the bird's bill, feet, and breast. The mate of the sitting bird is often 
stationed near at hand. 

The young are soon on their feet after leaving the egg, and, accord- 
ing to Dutcher and Bailey, " the instinct to hide seems to be developed 
within an hour or two after hatching." They conceal themselves or 
sometimes only push their heads under pieces of wood or projecting 
rocks or in the grass. The object of this habit may be also a desire 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 21 




Heron Island, Maine. 



A. C. Bent. 




Matinicus Rock, Maine. 



Herring Gull. 

For description see page 331. 



H. K, Job. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 107 

for coolness and shade. Audubon (1840), speaking of the herring 
gulls breeding in trees at Grand Manan, says : 

The most remarkable effect produced by these changes of locality is that the 
young which are hatched in the trees or high rocks do not leave the nests until 
they are able to fly. 

This is conspicuously the case at Perce Rock in the Graspe Peninsula 
and on the lofty cliffs of Bonaventure Island and Bon Ami. 

One of the parents guards the young during the first week or two 
of life, repelling intruders, and the young are brooded and shielded 
from the sun. 

R. M. Strong (1914) describes the feeding of young only a few 
hours old as follows : 

The adult bird did not insert its bill in the mouth of its offspring, but the 
latter took food from the ground just below the bill of the parent. * * * 
A quantity of food in a fine and soft condition was disgorged in more or less 
of a heap. 

Meyer writes that " in feeding the very young bird the parent 
holds the food in the bill and the young bird picks it out. The 
older birds take their food from the ground, where it is placed by the 
parents." Ward (1906) thus describes the feeding of young nearly 
able to fly : 

The young comes in front of an adult and with a bowing and courtesy ir,,,; 
movement puts up its bill to that of the old one, continuing the bowing fo. 
several minutes, resting between times. Sometimes it took hold of the adults 
bill with its own ; at other times merely touched bills. When the adult opened 
its mouth the young put its bill within. Failing to get indications of food it 
went to another adult, and repeated the operation, passing in succession to 
several, until at length it seemed to get some favorable signs, for it remained by 
this one, alternately begging and resting. After some time, it was apparent to 
me that the adult was striving to regurgitate. It would open its mouth, 
stretch its neck nearly horizontally, then bring its head down to the 
ground. * * * Perhaps half an hour after these efforts began I saw a por- 
tion of a fish appear in its mouth, and a moment later it was deposited on the 
ground, where the young promptly seized it. The fish appeared to be a herring 
about 7 or 8 inches long and so mascerated that it readily fell apart. 

I have observed adults at Perce Rock very promptly regurgitate 
for their young on alighting near them. 

This feeding is done by both parents ; and even after the young are 
able to gain a fair livelihood by their own exertions, and have gath- 
ered in companies by themselves, they are ever on the alert to beg 
food not only from their own parents, but from any adult that may 
come in their way. It is thought by some that the adults in their 
turn feed any that come along, but it is probable that the adults 
recognize their own offspring and as a rule refuse to feed any other, 
except when they are so set upon by the mob of clamorous young 
that they must perforce submit. The young are fed for at least five 



108 BUIJuETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

weeks, or until they are able to fly, and even for some time after this 
whenever the adult can be induced to part with some of its food. 
Young gulls swim readily, and when frightened will sometimes take 
to the water and swim rapidly away. 

An astonishing habit of herring gulls that has been observed and 
described by various writers is that of infanticide, and the murder 
is committed not only on the very young, but also on those nearly 
grown. Ward (1906a) says: 

The main point of attack was the back of the head. To this region a number 
of severe blows were given with the point of the bill, after which it was grasped 
between the mandibles of the adult and the bird was pulled about until the skin 
and flesh were cut through to the skull. 

He was unable to find that these victims were abnormal or had 
given offense. The habit may perhaps be due to the ferocity of the 
guarding and fighting instincts in the old birds, and a lack of attune- 
ment in the instincts of the young, in consequence of which a chick 
will occasionally stray from its own preserve and trespass on the 
domain of a neighbor. Meyer quotes Mr. Gray, the lighthouse 
keeper of Great Duck Island, as saying " that some of the old birds 
would kill young gulls and even young chickens. They would take 
the young bird by the neck and choke it. He put a stop to that by 
killing the bird found in the act." 

Examination of stomach contents of young herring gulls reported 
by Dutcher and Bailey (1903) showed that, besides fish and squid, 
various insects (moths, flies, and beetles) had been eaten. As a rule 
the young are given the same food that is consumed by the adults and 
this will be described later. In two stomachs of birds 1 and 2 
days old examined by me I found wasps and large June beetles. 

Plumages. — The downy young are of a buffy yellow color, nearly 
white below and dusky on the back. They are thickly marked with 
black spots above. The bill is horn color, with a pink tip after the 
white pipping knob has disappeared; the feet, dusky pink. The 
growth of the young gull is rapid, and at the age of 5 or 6 
weeks it has donned the juvenal dress, of which the prevailing color 
is dark gray tinged with brown, The upper parts are mottled and 
barred with grayish buff and white ; the head and neck are streaked 
with white ; the breast and belly nearly uniform ashy- fuscous. The 
primaries and tail are brownish black. The eyes are brown; the 
bill dark, pale at the base; the tarsi and feet grayish flesh color. 
There is a partial molt in the fall of the first year into the first 
winter plumage and a partial one in the spring into the first nuptial 
plumage ; but no essential change in the general color of the feathers. 
In the spring and summer the large flocks of herring gulls that are 
to be found south of the breeding range are largely made up of these 
dark plumaged year-old birds. In the fall of the year following 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 109 

the one in which the birds are hatched — that is, in the second winter — 
the "gray gull" molts into its second winter plumage, a dress 
which approaches that of the adult in its pearl-gray back and white 
belly, but the former is mottled with brownish and the latter clouded 
with dusky. The head, neck, and rump are heavily streaked with 
gray, the primaries are black, and the tail appears to be tipped with 
black, owing to the dusky brown mottling of the white feathers. 
A partial molt in the spring into the second nuptial plumage still 
further improves the dress. A few individuals of this age (2 years) 
with black tips to the tails and streaked breasts are to be found in 
the breeding colonies, but none of those in the gray of the first 
nuptial plumage. Not until the third year or later is the full dress 
assumed with perfect blue gray mantle, snowy heads, breasts, rumps, 
and tails, and with primaries tipped with white. Astley (1901) 
states that the bright yellow bill is not attained until the fourth year. 
There is then a carmine spot on the lower mandible; the irides are 
yellow. 

There is also a seasonal molt, by which a slight streaking of the 
neck is assumed in winter, but it is probable that this diminishes and 
may vanish with age. According to Dwight (1901) the limited pre- 
nuptial molts occur on the Atlantic coast in March and April, and 
the complete postnuptial molts in August and September. 

Food. — The food habits of the herring gull are of considerable 
importance, for the bird is a scavenger and renders great service in 
keeping the harbors and beaches free from decaying fish and refuse 
of all sorts. All is game that comes in their way, but their greatest 
prizes are thrown from fishing vessels when the men are cleaning 
fish. At these times they crowd around the sterns of the vessels and 
dash eagerly for the choice pieces, the air being filled with their 
screams. The method of picking up food from the water is char- 
acteristic and graceful. Down they swoop on outstretched wings 
and spread tails with feet dropped to the water, where they often 
seize the morsel without wetting a feather save perhaps only the tips 
of their tails, which are curved downward. Often the birds must 
needs check their course by back paddling with their wings or even 
by flying up almost backwards. If the morsel is large thy sit on the 
water for a moment or two to swallow 't, and thus drop behind the 
fishing vessel which, however, is easily overtaken. There is many 
a slip twixt the cup and the lip, however, for the birds are often 
made to share the booty with other gulls who have had their eyes 
on the same dainties, or even to lose it altogether when pursued by 
a more powerful rival. The great black-backed gull plays this rols 
with great effect. 

The scows which carry off the city garbage to be dumped in 
deep water are also eagerly followed by the gulls and much booty is 



110 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

gleaned when the vessel is discharged. In the harbors of populous 
cities there is always food to be found floating on the water, particu- 
larly in the neighborhood of fish wharves and at the mouths of 
sewers. The service to sanitation in these places is of great value. 
At Boston large quantities of sewage are poured out into the harbor 
at Moon Island just after the tide begins to ebb. Gulls collect from 
all sides in anticipation of this event and rest on the water offshore 
or fly to and fro until the sewer gates are opened. Then, heedless 
of the onlookers, they fly in crowded ranks close to the unsavory 
fountain head and dip gracefully for the titbits to be found there. 
It is an interesting fact and an indication of considerable intelligence 
that gulls, although very wary in regions where shooting is carried 
on, become entirely tame and confiding where this is forbidden, as is 
the case in harbors and bird reservations. 

At times, however, but not often, the herring gull resorts to the 
tactics of the tern, and captures small live fish by plunging headlong 
into the water. Occasionally this plunge is made from a height of 
15 or 20 feet, and the bird disappears below the surface, soon to 
emerge with its prey. Sometimes a whole flock can be seen engaged 
in this occupation as they follow a school of fish. At other times, 
the plunge with partly open wings is made from only a few feet 
above the surface, and the bird is only partially immersed. I have 
seen the members of a flock of herring gulls riding in shallow water 
fly up a few feet into the air in order to obtain impetus for a short 
dive below the surface for some prey. Knight (1908) describes the 
plunging of these gulls from the air and says : 

They flew about the open water in circles * * * and as their keen 
eyes detected some fish at this upper portion of their range they plunged with 
force into the water, quickly rising to the surface as a usual thing, though 
on at least one occasion a bird was out of sight so long that I had grave 
fears that it would be carried under the ice by the swift current, but it 
finally emerged at the edge of the ice and took wing with an unsually large 
tomcod. Nearly every plunge seemed to be successful, the birds swallowing 
the smaller fish before taking wing, but when a large fish was captured they 
would fly to the ice near by and after batting the fish from side to side on 
the ice would finally swallow it. 

When herring are caught in pounds and traps there are some 
dead or dying fish that are captured by the gulls, which have, there- 
fore, been accused of damaging the fishery. It is probable that their 
work here is more properly that of scavengers in keeping the traps 
free from dead fish, and, therefore, beneficial. 

The sand beaches are at times covered with stranded fish, small 
and large; sand launces, herring, cod, hake, haddock, pollock, dog- 
fish, and skates are often thrown up or cast themselves ashore, pur- 
sued and pursuers alike. Their dead bodies would soon become 
intolerable were it not for the greediness of the gulls who come from 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. Ill 

all sides to the feast. The small fry are eaten whole, while the 
larger bony fishes are gradually hacked to pieces until nothing but 
the skeleton is left. The tough spiny skin of the dogfishes and 
skates protect them until decay has allowed an entrance, and these 
are then partly consumed. Squid are also thrown up on the beaches 
and are relished by the gulls. 

The herring gull has a curious habit of dragging dry fish from the 
upper beach to the water. I found on Ipswich Beach a fish, 18 
inches long, that had been dragged by a gull 134 yards in an irreg- 
ular course from the upper beach to the edge of the water. During 
the whole transit the gull walked backward, as was plainly shown 
by the tracks. In this connection the following by Strong (1914) 
concerning his captive gulls is of interest : He found that these gulls 
often rinsed a piece of food that " has been lying in a chemical solu- 
tion, or when it has accumulated considerable dirt as a consequence 
of having been dragged on the ground. Such rinsing of the food 
does not occur at every feeding, but is usual." In the case of the 
gulls at Ipswich it would seem as if they wished to soften the food 
by maceration in the water. 

From the beach and among the rocks of the seashore the herring 
gull obtains a variety of food other than dead refuse — crabs and 
other crustaceans, mollusks of all sorts, such as clams, mussels, sea 
snails, etc., and echinoderms and worms. Many crabs and mollusks 
are broken with the bill, but if this can not be accomplished the 
gull seizes the difficult morsel and flies up with it into the air, nearly 
vertically or in circles, drops it onto the hard sand or rocks, follows 
closely the descent, and alights to regale itself on the exposed con- 
tents. If unsuccessful the first time the gull tries a second and some- 
times a third or fourth time. This habit, which is also a common 
one with crows, explains the fact that mollusk shells, crabs, and sea 
urchins are scattered so universally along our coast, sometimes half 
a mile from the sea. On the rocky coast of Maine, where the sea 
urchin (Strongylocentrotus drobachiensis) is abundant, the gulls 
sometimes turn them over and pick out the flesh from the circular 
hole about the mouth without breaking the shell. Isely (1912) 
speaks of seeing a herring gull in Kansas " following a corn lister, 
picking up grubs like the blackbirds." In England, where the birds 
are more familiar with man, herring gulls not infrequently follow 
the plow to pick up worms and grubs. 

From time to time complaint is made of the damage done by her- 
ring gulls in eating fish or fish refuse spread on land as a fertilizer, 
and one can hardly blame the gull for his failure to discriminate 
between harmful and useful refuse. It is probable that these reports 
are exaggerated, and it has been found that the birds are easily kept 
away by scarecrows. 



112 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Seton (1908) says of the herring gull in the region of the Great 
Slave Lake that it "will pursue wounded game and often follows 
the hunter to share in the kill." Mackay (1892) says that herring 
gulls will eat dead ducks with avidity, cleaning off the flesh and 
rejecting the skin and feathers as if it had been done with a sharp 
knife. He has known them to carry a dead red-breasted merganser 
" for nearly a quarter of a mile by stages of about 25 yards, holding 
it by the neck, in order to eat it in security." He also states that 
they watch mergansers and rush at them when they appear with a 
fish in the mouth, and he believes that they often secure the fish. 

As has been stated above, insects of all kinds have been found in 
the stomachs of young birds. Coues (1877) speaks of finding the 
remains of a hare in a gull's stomach, and Eifrig (1905) seeds and 
berries. 

The herring gull under some circumstances robs nests of the eggs 
and young, but not to such an extent as some other gulls. Mr. 
Manly Hardy reports finding a herring gull nesting within 8 or 
10 feet of three red-breasted mergansers' nests and close by the nests 
of spotted sandpipers and common terns, none of which was in the 
least disturbed. 

Herring gulls eject from their mouths the harder particles of 
food, such as fishbones and crab's claws, in the form of loosely com- 
pacted pellets; some 2 inches in length. These may be seen about 
their resting places. I have sometimes found a few feathers in 
these pellets, probably plucked from the bird's own breasts. 

The fresh-water ponds and reservoirs along the coast are fre- 
quently visited by this splendid gull, and it is the common idea that 
they resort to these to drink fresh water ; but it is to be remembered 
that in some places and times they stay continuously near salt water, 
and that Mr. Brewster's captive kittiwake refused fresh water, but 
drank salt water. In the interior on the fresh- water lakes and ponds 
where the herring gull breeds, and in similar regions where it spends 
the winter, it is evident that the bird must drink fresh water. 
Anthony (1906) says: 

That gulls drink sea water, and can thrive on it, is a fact not to be ques- 
tioned; but I am of the opinion that when fresh water can be obtained with- 
out too much trouble they will drink it in preference. 

Strong (1914) found that his captive gulls showed an aversion foi 
salted food, and washed their bills and drank fresh water after- 
wards. 

Behavior. — The flight of the herring gull varies greatly under dif- 
ferent circumstances. At times, especially in calm weather, the 
birds flap along slowly with broad, slow wing beats like those of 
herons or cormorants. In this manner they may fly close to the 
water or high in the air, and they are usually massed in loose flocks. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 113 

Occasionally, however, their flight is in a long line, one behind the 
other, or in broad lines abreast, and rarely they may be seen in the 
typical V formation of ducks. In rising, a flock often ascends 
nearly vertically in a great circle all together, or in many intersect- 
ing circles. The play of light and shade, of sun and shadow, alter- 
nately make the birds appear dark and light. Many hours are spent 
by the gulls in this graceful and beautiful sport of soaring in circles — 
a sport which apparently requires but little effort, as, under favor- 
able conditions, few wing beats are necessary. The descent may be 
made in the same manner as the ascent by circling, but at times the 
birds drop swiftly down by tipping or rocking from side to side. 

In windy weather the flight of the herring gull is far from slow 
and heron-like. Then it is extremely graceful, as the bird alter- 
nately sails with great rapidity before the wind or beats up into it. 

At times these gulls are able to sail directly into the teeth of the 
wind without a single stroke of the wing. Mr. William Brewster 
(1912) has described the manner in which herring gulls keep pace 
with a vessel, gliding along on almost motionless wings into the teeth 
of the gale, sometimes within a few yards of the deck, but always 
on the windward side. He says : 

As the gale increased they flapped their wings less and less often, until most, 
if not all of them, were gliding ceaselessly, minute after minute, over distances 
certainly exceeding a mile, without a single wing beat, but not without changes 
or readjustments in the bend or the inclination of the wings, which took place 
not infrequently and often were very obvious. 

Several explanations of this mysterious means of propulsion have 
been offered, but the following by F. W. Headley (1912) seems to me 
the most satisfactory. He says : 

There is a feat perhaps more striking than any of the others already de- 
scribed — a feat which, nevertheless, gulls often achieve. A steamer is advanc- 
ing against a fairly strong wind, which, if not absolutely a head wind, strikes 
the vessel at an acute angle. There results a steady up current over the stern 
of the vessel, or slightly to one side or the other of the stern. Poised on this 
up current the gulls hang in mid-air, their wings held rigidly expanded. Only 
very slight wing movements, evidently for purposes of balance, can be detected. 
Standing on the deck and watching these gulls one is irresistibly reminded of 
the poising of the kestrel high in air, with wings held motionless, when he finds 
a wind that is all that he could wish. It is sometimes easy to forget that, 
unlike the kestrel, they do not remain in one spot, but that all the while they 
are moving forward and, in fact, keeping pace with the steamer. The gulls, 
like the kestrel, are poising on an up current of air ; but they give their bodies 
a rather different incline, with the result that they keep traveling forward. 
* * * The general incline of their body and wing surfaces is slightly down- 
ward. Hence the upward-streaming wind not only maintains them in the air 
or lifts them higher, but, acting at right angle, also drives them forward. 

A similar explanation is given in detail by A. Forbes (1913). 



114 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

It is probable that gulls take advantage of ascending currents of 
air when they soar in circles without perceptible wing beat. In 
descending from a height they often glide, or vol-plane in the modern 
language of the aviator, with amazing speed at a steep angle. At 
other times, as remarked above, they descend almost vertically by 
tipping first to one side and then to the other, with a suddenness that 
suggests falling. The last 20 or 30 feet is often accomplished slowly 
with upstretched wings and downstretched legs. There are very 
few birds whose flight is more beautiful or which will so well repay 
study as that of the herring gull. 

In flight the feet are stretched behind under the tail, where they 
can be seen ; but it is not very rare to discover a gull flying with one 
or both feet imbedded in the feathers of the breast, entirely covered 
or showing only a bit of the darker surface of the feet. I can hardly 
believe that this is for the sake of warmth, for it may occur on com- 
paratively warm days; while even in the coldest weather the great 
majority of gulls fly with their feet exposed behind. In quick turns 
the feet are sometimes dropped, as if to aid in holding the air like a 
centerboard. They are also dropped as they approach the water, 
and at times dangle for several seconds as the birds rise into the air. 
Kising from the water or beach is easily accomplished against a 
strong wind, but in calm weather the bird is obliged to run along 
the sand or water for a variable distance before it can rise above the 
surface. 

Although gulls are able to swim rapidly when winged and unable 
to fly, they rarely swim any distance under natural conditions. Their 
buoyant position on the water, with elevated tails, is well expressed by 
Oliver Wendell Holmes when he says : 

The gull, high floating like a sloop unladen. 

The young just out of the egg are rapid swimmers and instinctively 
take to the water. 

It is said by some writers that the herring gull never dives. This 
statement is, however, incorrect, as has already been shown in de- 
scribing the feeding habits. In fact, under exceptional circum- 
stances the herring gull dives as well as a tern. 

The vocal powers of the herring gull have a wide range. This is 
particularly the case during the breeding season, when they indulge 
in all sorts of sounds, uttered it may be in conversational manner, in 
moods of love and passion, or anger and fear. Writers have described 
these sounds by syllables or by comparisions with other sounds in 
nature. Thus Ward (1906) says: 

Sometimes one hears sounds like the lowing of cattle, except that the pitch 
is higher, like the bleating of sheep, the mewing or snarling of cats, the cluck- 
ing of hens, the crowing of cocks, hoarse human chuckles, and sounds for which 
I could find no comparisons. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 115 

Olive Thome Miller says that the young herring gull has "a 
querulous cry like a puppy in distress." 

I have often been struck with the resemblance of some of their 
notes to the rattling of blocks in the rigging of a vessel. 

The usual alarm cry may be represented by the syllables, kak-kak- 
kak, or by a series of ha ha has. Herrick writes it as " waw-wak- 
wakf wak-wak! wak-wak!" Strong decided on the syllables " kek- 
kek-kek" with the accent on the first syllable. Ward also distin- 
guishes a "challenge cry where the bird stretches its neck up at an 
angle of 45° and holds its whole body rigidly while the cry is 
emitted with great vehemence. This I have previously described 
under courtship. Bent's notes refer to this cry as the "trumpeting 
call " and state that this is 

the most striking and spectacular vocal performance of all the varied notes 
heard on the breeding grounds. It is usually given from a tree, stump, or 
other perch, but often from the ground. The neck is outstretched to its full 
extent, pointing upwards at an angle, and the mouth is opened wide. The 
call begins with a loud, shrill, prolonged scream, which is followed by a long 
series of shorter notes, rapidly uttered, sometimes as many as 10 or 12 in 
the latter. It sounds like queeeee-ah, quale, quale, quale, quale, quale, quale, 
quale, quale,, quale, quale. As one bird starts on this call it seems to challenge 
others to join in the chorus, until perhaps a dozen birds are all giving it at 
once like a loud ringing chorus of college cheers. 

Strong represents the call as keee, kee ek, kee ek, kee ek, kee ek, 
etc. I have noted it as ko-ah, ko-ah, etc., as well as ku-ku, or kee 
ke, kee, the last named high pitched and rapidly repeated. At 
times the notes are clear and bugle like ; again squeaking or rattling ; 
again the birds emit hissing whistles, which are very different from 
the other notes and very characteristic. There is evidently great 
individual variation in the notes as well as variations due to many 
moods and circumstances. 

The herring gull associates with a number of other sea birds in 
the same haunts. With the great black-backed gull it has not in- 
frequent encounters on the score of food, but it is fair to say that 
the larger bird is more often the aggressor. 

Arthur Saunders writes : 

I have seen the common crow rob the gull of mussels which they have 
dropped on the rocks to break. The crows sit on the rocks until a gull drops a 
mussel near it, then walk up and seize the mussel before the gull has time to 
get it again. The gulls do not seem to resent this at all. They generally act as 
though they did not know where the mussel had gone to and fly off to hunt for 
another. 

I have several times seen a herring gull fly at a whistler who was 
swimming near-by. The whistler always dove at the approach of 
the gull, who would settle on the water where the duck went down. 
In a few seconds he would start off for another duck, and the process 



116 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

would be repeated again and again. The gull never picked up any 
food from the water and never molested any ducks swimming near ; 
and none of them showed any fear, except the one directly flown at, 
who would always dive before the gull reached it. It seemed to be 
a matter of play on the part of the gull that was understood as such 
by the duck, although it is possible that the gull hoped to obtain 
food. On one occasion I saw a herring gull fly directly at a female 
American merganser which with another was being courted by a 
male. The merganser flew vigorously away just as the gull alighted. 
Then began an active chase by short flights on the part of the gull, 
who was eluded by rapid turns and occasional dives on the part of 
the merganser. Finally the merganser came up close to the two 
other mergansers, who had remained passive during the pursuit, but 
as the gull pounced at the group they all took flight, closely followed 
by the tyrant. The mergansers easily distanced the gull, who in his 
eagerness spit out a small fish, but soon after gave up the pursuit 
and alighted on the ice. 

Well endowed by nature to resist the destructive agencies of storm 
and cold, with practically no enemies among birds and mammals, 
the herring gull would indeed be a prosperous species were it not for 
the arch enemy, man. Fortunately, at the present date, the idea of 
bird preservation from an esthetic as well as from a utilitarian point 
of view is gaining ground, and since the beginning of the present cen- 
tury the herring gull has been more and more protected from gun- 
ners and eggers. 

With many the benefit derived from this gull in sanitation (the 
removal from harbors of floating organic matter) is a strong argu- 
ment in favor of protection. In the past, and to a large extent in 
such out-of-the way regions as Labrador at the present day, these 
gulls were and are incessantly persecuted during the breeding sea- 
son. Their eggs are highly valued as a food supply, and the young 
are cooped up and fattened for eating. Adult birds are shot for food 
or for mere sport. It is fortunate that such practices are now 
frowned upon in all well-regulated communities. 

A destructive agency of the young at breeding colonies is the surf 
on the shore. In stormy weather when the waves are high many 
young gulls, still unable to fly, are killed by being dashed on the 
rocks. 

Like many other birds, it is probable that herring gulls enjoy con- 
siderable longevity, barring accidents. American ornithologists are 
familiar with the case of " Gull Dick," often reported by Mackay in 
M The Auk." For 24 years this bird— easily recognized by markings, 
voice, and disposition — visited the neighborhood of the Brenton's 
Eeef Lightship in Narragansett Bay. Here it stayed from about 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 117 

October 12 to April 7. The bird was fed regularly with boiled pork 
and fish. It would fly close to the vessel and would respond to calls 
or waving of the hand at mealtimes, and it jealously drove off all 
other gulls. Morris (1903) records another individual that was ob- 
served for at least 30 years. 

Fall.— The fall migration from the breeding grounds at the Duck 
Islands, Maine, has been observed by the lightkeepers to begin about 
August 8, and by the 20th three-quarters of the birds have left. At 
Ipswich I have noted a decided diminution in the summer birds and 
a migration past the beach of adults by the 20th of August. As the 
herring gull is found in summer as well as in winter to the south of 
the breeding range, it is difficult to set exact limits in time for the 
migrations. 

The usual explanation given for the occurrence of the herring gull 
in summer south of its breeding grounds is that these birds are 
immature or, if adults, barren individuals. On the coast of Essex 
County, Massachusetts, especially at Ipswich, is a place where non- 
breeding summer birds can be studied to good advantage. Here, 
on the sandy beaches, they collect in numbers, which have notice- 
ably increased of late years, since adequate protection has been ex- 
tended to the breeding colonies farther north. As a large proportion 
of the summer birds at Ipswich are in immature plumage, it is 
probable that immaturity is the cause for nonbreeding to a con- 
siderable extent. A certain proportion, however, sometimes as many 
as 5 or even 10 per cent of the flocks, are in adult plumage. This fact 
and the fact that the number of gulls varies greatly from day to 
day, and that their numbers are greatest at the times when the 
beaches are covered with stranded fish, suggests that a certain 
proportion, perhaps only a small one, may be daily excursionists from 
their breeding places, the nearest of which, No Mans Land, is 111 
miles northeast of Ipswich Light. Confirming this supposition are 
some observations made by me in June, 1904, on the Maine coast, 
where I found flocks of gulls flying southwest in the morning and 
northeast at night. The following from Dutcher and Bailey (1903) 
in the study of the gulls at No Mans Land and Great Duck Island, 
also bears this out : 

At daylight large numbers of gulls leave the island and go to sea for food; 
and the length of time they remain away is governed probably by the distance 
they have to go to find fish. Some days they return quite early and on others 
much later. The manner of flight when returning from one of these food trips 
is entirely different from that of the ordinary excursions made from the 
breeding grounds'; it is made close to the surface of the water, very direct, 
one bird following another, and is quite rapid. Sometimes the birds show 
marked evidences of fatigue. 



118 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

The numbers of these summer birds at Ipswich I have estimated 
at various times with considerable care and by various methods. 
Sometimes, I have measured the sand bar which they covered, or 
the strip of beach or the length of the line in the water abreast of the 
beach, and, by allowing a certain number to the square or linear 
yard, have arrived at a fairly accurate estimate, which I believe in 
most cases has been below rather than above the mark. The follow- 
ing are some of the dates and the numbers: June 21, 1903, 2,000; 
July 27, 1903, 2,500; November 20, 1904, 8,000; July 16, 1905, 28,800; 
July 20, 1907, 5,000; July 12, 1908, 5,000. The large number given 
for July 16, 1905, was obtained from the measurement of the area 
occupied by a flock. This was an area of 28,800 square yards, where 
the birds had stood nearly shoulder to shoulder. Even if there 
was only one bird in every square yard, the numbers would almost 
exceed belief. 

After the middle of September the ponds about Boston where 
shooting is forbidden are frequented daily by this bird. The num- 
bers are sometimes so great that the authorities have at times been 
alarmed lest the waters of the reservoirs be polluted by the droppings 
of the birds, or by typhoid baccilli, which they fear may be carried on 
the feet or plumage from sewage on which the gulls feed. I have 
made especial note of the gulls visiting the Back Bay Basin of Bos- 
ton, bounded by Boston and Cambridge, and the center of a great 
area of brick and mortar. For some years past the tides have been 
excluded and the water is fresh. The gulls do not spend the night 
here, but come in from the sea, flying high over the houses at sunrise 
or from time to time during the day. At times companies of many 
hundreds ride the water. Later in the winter the gulls collect in 
great flocks on the ice. I have seen several acres of ice here, as well 
as on Fresh Pond, Cambridge, covered thickly with gulls. 

The duration of the visits of the gulls to the fresh-water ponds 
varies. Sometimes they fly back to the harbor or sea within half an 
hour, sometimes they tarry much longer ; but, as often happens, some 
are coming and going all day, so it is difficult to say how long the 
majority remain, However that may be, the ponds are deserted by 
them at sunset. On one occasion a large flock of gulls remained in 
Charles River Basin as late as 9 o'clock on a mild December night. 
It is possible that some food may be obtained on the surface of these 
bodies of fresh water, but the gulls appear to spend most of their 
time there gossiping in groups as they float in closely crowded ranks 
on the surface of the water or stand shoulder to shoulder on the ice. 

The subject of the drinking of fresh water has already been dis- 
cussed above. As the gulls do not spend the night in the small fresh- 
water ponds on the coast, and as they fly toward the sea at sunset, 
it is evident that they must spend the night on or near salt water. 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NOETH AMERICAN GULLS AND TEEN'S. 119 

One such night chamber — it can not be called a roost — I have found 
off the beach at Eevere, close to Boston. Here in November and De- 
cember I have seen great companies of these splendid white birds 
gathering about sunset from a quarter to a third of a mile off- 
shore. Sometimes there are two groups of many hundreds each. 
Once I saw one that looked like a coral atoll, for it was annular with 
a calm, open area in the middle. I have seen these birds in a strong 
offshore wind keep in exactly the same place ; so it was evident that 
each bird, headed up into the wind, must have been paddling hard. 
This, to our way of thinking, would seem to be a poor manner in 
which to spend the night — sleep walking with a vengeance. It is 
possible and indeed probable that later in the evening and during 
the night, when the beach is free from human intrusion, the birds 
seek rest on the beach. In fact at sunrise one December day I saw 
a large flock of herring gulls at Revere, partly on the beach and 
partly in the water. In the summer at Ipswich the gulls often spend 
the night on the beach, although they sometimes resort to the 
marshes and doubtless also sleep on the water. Many of them fly 
to the small rocky islands, the Salvages, off the end of Cape Ann, 
and there, secure from human intrusion, spend the night. In some 
regions herring gulls roost in trees during the night. 

It is stated that sometimes herring gulls follow a vessel for food 
for many miles and even across the Atlantic Ocean. Anthony (1906) 
states that herring gulls turn back some 25 miles at sea on the Pacific 
coast. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — In North America east to the Atlantic coast. 
South to central Maine (Penobscot Bay), central New York 
(Lake Champlain, Hamilton, Herkimer, and Oneida Counties), 
southern Ontario (Great Lakes), northern Wisconsin (Green Bay), 
northern Michigan (Sanilac County), central Minnesota (Mille 
Lacs), southern Manitoba (Shoal Lake), and central British Colum- 
bia (Sabine Lake). The western and northern limits are uncertain. 
Saskatchewan and North Dakota records are confused with cdli- 
fornicus; breeding records from Forrester and Kodiak Islands, the 
Alaska Peninsula, Mount McKinley region, and Yukon River are 
not substantiated by specimens and may refer to thayeri. A breeding 
female has been taken at Lake Tagish, Yukon. For the same reason 
the northern limits which extend up to southern Ellesmere Land 
are equally uncertain. The species breeds in Iceland, the British 
Isles, and in Europe east to the White and Baltic Seas and south to 
northern France. 

174785—21 9 



120 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reserva- 
tions : In Alaska, Forrester Island : in Michigan, Huron Island, and 
Siskiwit Islands; in Wisconsin, Gravel Island and Green Bay; in 
Canada, protected on Perce Rock. 

Winter range. — From the Great Lakes irregularly and the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence rarely, southward to Bermuda, the West Indies (Cuba 
and Jamaica), and the Gulf of Mexico (Florida, Texas, and Yuca- 
tan) ; on the Pacific coast from British Columbia (Puget Sound), 
south to Mexico (Tres Marias Islands) ; in Europe from the British 
Isles south to the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean; and east 
to the Black and Caspian Seas. 

Spring migration. — Dates of early arrival : Prince Edward Island, 
April 1 ; Quebec, April 10 ; Montreal, April 13 ; Ottawa, March 13 ; 
Wisconsin, Madison, March 2; Minnesota, Heron Lake, March 20; 
Manitoba, Aweme, April 2 : Alberta, Edmonton, May 1 ; Mackenzie, 
Fort Simpson, May 14; Franklin, Bay of Mercy, May 31, and Prince 
of Wales Strait, June 7. Dates of late departure: Florida, Clear- 
water Harbor, May 21 ; North Carolina, Pea Island, May 3 ; Mary- 
land, Baltimore, May 28 ; Rhode Island, Providence, June 12 ; Massa- 
chusetts, Woods Hole, July 4 (average June 11) ; Louisiana, New 
Orleans, March 25; Missouri, St. Louis, May 28 (average April 15) ; 
Illinois, Chicago, June 15 (average April 23). 

Fall migration. — Average dates of arrival : Massachusetts, Woods 
Hole, August 21 ; New Jersey, Jersey City, September 21 ; Georgia, 
Savannah, November 3 ; Iowa, Keokuk, October 8. Average dates of 
departure; Ungava, Fort Chimo, September 18; Labrador, Nakvak, 
October ; Montreal, November 5 ; Ontario, Ottawa, November 7 ; 
Mackenzie, Fort Resolution, September 22; Manitoka, Killarney, 
October 18. 

Egg dates. — Maine: Forty-eight records, May 4 to August 8; 
twenty-four records, June 12 to 30. Michigan : Twenty-five records, 
May 21 to June 24 ; thirteen records, May 27 to June 10. Gulf of St. 
Lawrence : Nine records, June 7 to 23. Great Britain : Nine records, 
April 28 to May 26 ; five records, May 12 to 20. 

LARUS THAYERI Brooks. 

THAYER'S GULL. 

HABITS. 

A new species has recently been described by Mr. W. Sprague 
Brooks (1915), based on the discovery that certain gulls collected 
by Mr. J. S. Warmbath, in Ellesmere Land in June, 1901, supposed 
to be Kumlien's gulls, were in reality a distinct and undescribed 
species. The discovery was made in attempting to identify a gull 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 121 

collected by Mr. Joseph Dixon at Demarcation Point, Alaska, on 
August 28, 1913. Practically nothing is known about the distribu- 
tion or life history of this decidedly boreal species. 

There are two sets of two eggs each, in Col. John E. Thayer's 
collection, taken by Mr. Warmbath in Ellesmere Land on June 15, 
1910. These, and I believe a few others, were sold as eggs of Kum- 
lien's gull, which they were honestly supposed to be at that time. 
These eggs are not strikingly different from many other gulls' eggs, 
though they are rather more pointed than the average; the shape 
varies from ovate to elongate ovate. The ground color is " dark 
olive-buff," "buffy brown," or "buffy olive." The markings are 
similar to those of other large gulls. The four eggs measure 80 
by 51.5, 83 by 52, 73 by 49, and 75 to 52 millimeters. There is a set 
of three eggs in the author's collection, taken by Captain Bernard 
on Victoria Island, Arctic America, on June 27, 1914. The nest is 
described as the " usual nest of vegetation on rocks close to the sea." 
In these three eggs the ground color is, respectively, " deep olive 
buff," " yellowish glaucous," and " sea foam yellow." All three are 
quite uniformly and rather thickly covered with small spots of 
" vinaceous drab " and various shades of dark brown, from " bister " 
to almost black. In one egg the darkest markings are in scrawls. 
They measure 67 by 46, 67 by 48.5, and 70.4 by 46.5. 

Very little is known about the distribution and habits of Thayer's 
gull, but, as it is now supposed to be a subspecies of the herring gull, 
its habits and plumage changes are probably similar to those of the 
common species. 

Mr. Brooks (1915) says of its distribution: 

Though there is no data to determine the range of this species it must be a 
very boreal form, and perhaps comparatively small in numbers. The Alaskan 
specimens may have wandered from Ellesmere Land, but it seems reasonable 
to believe that the bird may inhabit Prince Patrick, Melville, or Bathurst 
Islands, nearly all this territory being north of 75°. 

Dr. Jonathan D wight (1917) has studied practically all of the 
specimens of this gull now available, some 25 in all, which he says: 

demonstrate that the supposed new species is nothing more than a geographical 
race of the herring gull, and should stand as Larus argentatus thayeri — 
Thayer's herring gull. Complete intergradation between the two forms occurs, 
argentatus prevailing south of Hudson Strait and of the northern shores of 
Hudson Bay, while northward probably throughout the Arctic Archipelago of 
Canada, thayeri seems to be the common form. 

Breeding birds of Fort Chimo, Ungava, are argentatus, and those of Cape 
Fullerton, north of Chesterfield Inlet, not quite typical thayeri, but farther 
north and west all the birds are thayeri. The localities from which I have seen 
breeding specimens are Buchanan Bay, Ellesmere Land, Browne Island (south 
of Cornwallis Island), Kater Point, Coronation Gulf, Bernard Harbor, Dolphin 
and Union Strait, and Cape Kellett, Banks Island. 



122 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Thayer's herring gull probably winters chiefly on the Pacific coast, for I have 
examined a number of specimens from Barkley Sound, Departure Bay, and 
Comox, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I also have an adult female in 
my own collection taken on the north shore of the St. Lawrence at Tadousac, 
Quebec, July 26; but this specimen is doubtless a wanderer from the north, 
for dissection showed it to be a bird past the breeding stage. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Breeding range imperfectly known. Presum- 
ably breeding herring gulls from the Artie coast of North America 
are this form, but it is not possible to verify all records ; neither do 
we know the area where intergradation takes place. Breeding speci- 
mens have been examined by D wight from Buchanan Bay, Ellesmere 
Land, Browne Island (south of Cornwallis Island), Cape Fullerton, 
Kater Point, Coronation Gulf, Bernard Harbor, Dolphin and Union 
Strait, and Cape Kellett, Banks Island. Eggs have been taken at 
Ellesmere Land (type locality) and Victoria Island. 

Winter range. — Probably largely on Pacific coast. Specimens ex- 
amined by Dwight from Barkley Sound, Departure Bay, and Comox, 
Vancouver Island, British Columbia. 

Migration. — Practically nothing is known regarding the migra- 
tions of this gull. It apparently passes north along the Pacific coast 
at least to southeastern Alaska (Ketchikan, specimen taken) ; and, 
lacking negative evidence, we may infer the return is made by the 
same route. 

Casual records. — One was taken at Tadousac, Quebec, July 26. 

Egg dates. — Ellesmere Land: Two records, June 15 and July 1. 
Victoria Island : One record, June 27. 

LARUS VEGAE Palmen. 
VEGA GULL. 

HABITS. 

This (so-called) species seems to be nothing more nor less than a 
dark-backed herring gull, and I doubt very much if it will prove to 
be more than subspecifically distinct from Larus argentatus, if even 
that. Mr. William H. Kobbe (1902) has presented a very thorough 
and convincing argument to prove that the two forms intergrade, 
and suggests that but one species be recognized. The characters on 
which Larus vegae is supposed to stand Rave been apparently con- 
fused with those of Larus cachinnans, or are variable and unsatisfac- 
tory. For a full discussion of the merits of the case I would refer 
the readers to Mr. Kobbe's excellent paper. 

The distribution of the Vega gull has not been very thoroughly 
worked out, for our knowledge of the bird life of the region it in- 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 22 




Kolyma Delta, Siberia. 



J. Koren. 




Kolyma Delta, Siberia. 



Vega Gull. 

For description see page 331. 



J. Koren. 



LITE HISTORIES OF XOETH AMERICAN GULLS AXD TEEXS. 123 

habits is very meager. Until the limits of its breeding range are 
well known, and until a large series of specimens have been collected 
in that region, the correct status of the species can not be determined. 

If not identical with the herring gull it is certainly closely related 
to it. and its habits, so far as we know, are similar. It is therefore 
fair to assume that its life history closely resembles that of the com- 
moner species, due allowance being made for any differences in en- 
vironment. 

Nesting. — There are three sets of eggs of this species in the authors 
collection, all of which were taken by Mr. Johan Keren at the mouth 
of the Eiver Kolyma in northeastern Siberia, where he found it an 
abundant species along the Arctic coast. Two of these nests were 
photographed for illustration in this work. The first nest was 
located on a shelf on a steep bluff 200 feet high, on the bank of the 
river, where glaucous gulls were also nesting. It contained three 
eggs, which were nearly ready to hatch on July 10. Another set of 
three eggs, incubated about 15 days, was taken on July 2. A large 
nest of moss and straws had been built over the root of a stranded 
tree trunk, which drifted onto a low. grass-grown islet of the delta. 
The third set was taken on July 6 and consisted of two eggs, incu- 
bated seven days. The nest was made of moss and straws in a bog 
on a low island of the delta : a colony of six pairs of Vega gulls were 
breeding on the island. 

Eggs. — The above three sets of eggs are so different in coloring 
that they are worth describing, as representing the usual variations 
in eggs of this species. In the first set the ground color is " deep 
olive buff": the eggs are sparingly spotted over the entire surface 
with rather small spots of u fuscous." " Vandyke brown." " Dresden 
brown." and "chestnut brown." over underlying spots and blotches 
varying from " pale drab gray " to " hair brown." The second set 
is paler. " olive buff." one egg having a decidedly greenish tinge : this 
latter egg is heavily and fantastically blotched with dark shades of 
** chestnut brown " and "Vandyke brown." The third set represents 
the brownish type ; the ground color carries from dull u snuff brown " 
to dull " tawny olive" : the three eggs are all heavily spotted, chiefly 
about the larger ends, with confluent spots of " hair brown." " drab." 
** warm sepia." and dark u Vandyke brown." All of these eggs could 
be closely matched with similar types of herring gull's eggs, which 
they resemble in general appearance. The measurements of 30 
eggs, in various collections, average 70.4 by -±9.5 millimeters; the 
eggs showing the four extremes measure 77.5 by 50.5. 75.5 by 53.1 
and 65 by 47.5 millimeters. 

Plumages. — The downy is similar to that of the herring gull, but 
what specimens I have seen average darker gray in color, less buffy. 



124 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

and are somewhat more heavily spotted with black. Although speci- 
mens of this bird are scarce in collections, I have seen enough to con- 
vince me that the molts and plumages are similar to those of the 
herring gull. 

Winter. — Our check list states that this species migrates south in 
winter to Japan, and does not mention any southward migration 
down the Pacific coast of North America; but Mr. Kobbe (1902) 
collected a series of herring gulls in San Francisco Bay during De- 
cember, 1900, and January, March, and April, 1901, some of Avhich 
might easily be referred to this form. His series, and that of the 
California Academy of Sciences, show every gradation of color, from 
the darkest vega to the lightest herring gull. The more one studies 
such material the less faith one has in Lanes vegae as a species. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Northeastern Siberia, known to breed on the 
Kolyma River and its delta: Cape Bolshaja Baranof ; Cape Kibera 
Island; and coast of Tchonkatch (Idligass Island). Taken in sum- 
mer, and probably breeds on the Siberian coast from the Taimir 
Peninsula and the Liakoff Islands to Plover Bay and Kamchatka. 
Alaska breeding records are doubtful. 

Winter range. — South along the coasts of Japan and China to 
Formosa and the Bonin Islands. Eecords from the Pacific coast of 
the United States are usually not accepted. 

Spring migration. — Northward along the Asiatic coast. China, 
Formosa Channel, March 9 ; Japan, Kanagana, March 29 ; Saghalin 
Island, June 2 (may breed there). 

Fall migration. — Eastward to Norton Sound, Alaska, and then 
southward along the Asiatic coast. Alaska, Nome, August 31; St. 
Michael, October 16. 

Casual records. — Taken at Laysan Island and Marcus Island in 
the Pacific Ocean. 

Egg dates. — Northeastern Siberia : Eight records, June 4 to July 
12 ; four records, June 24 to July 6. 

LARUS CALIFORNICUS Lawrence. 

CALIFORNIA GULL. 

HABITS. 

It has always seemed to me that the above name should have been 
applied to the western gull, Larus occidentalism the characteristic 
gull of the California coast, for the subject of this sketch, Larus 
calif ornicus, is essentially a bird of the inland plains. It is common 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 23 



W 



"V 
















Big Stick Lake, Saskatchewan. 



A. C. Bent. 




Big Stick Lake, Saskatchewan. 



A. C. Bent. 



California Gull. 

For description see page 33 1 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 125 

enough on the California coast in winter, together with several other 
species, but it is not known to breed within that State except in the 
elevated regions east of the Sierras in the northern part of the State. 
Although we are accustomed to associate gulls with the seashore this 
species seems to be confined, during the breeding season, to the in- 
terior, where it is widely distributed and in many places abundant, 
particularly in the vicinity of the larger lakes, from northern Utah 
to the barren grounds on the Arctic coast. The exact limits of its 
distribution are none too well known, for the casual observer might 
easily mistake it for the herring gull, which it closely resembles. 
The ranges of the two species come together at the eastern edge of 
the Great Plains, and undoubtedly many mistaken identifications 
have been made where specimens have not been collected. Such was 
the case at Crane Lake, Saskatchewan, where the herring gull had 
been reported as breeding abundantly, but where all of the large gulls 
that we collected during two seasons' work proved to be California 
gulls, which were very common. 

Nesting. — The finest breeding colony of this species that I have 
ever seen was at Big Stick Lake in that same region, 30 miles north 
of Maple Creek. On June 14, 1906, our guide drove us out through 
shallow water to a small island, about 300 yards from the shore. It 
was a low, flat island, surrounded by gravelly or muddy beaches, 
largely bare on the higher portions, except for a scattered growth of 
coarse, dead weeds, but supporting quite a thick growth of long 
grass on the lower or flatter portion. It may have contained more 
than 1 acre of land, but certainly not over 2 acres at the most. As 
we landed a flock of American white pelicans flew off from the far- 
ther end and a great cloud of California and ring-billed gulls arose 
from the center of the island, but we devoted our attention at first 
to the American avocets, which had flown out to greet us with their 
yelping notes of protest. Their nests were placed in the short grass 
near the beach or on the windrows of driftweed which lined the 
shores. There were not over a dozen pairs in the colony. A small 
colony of common terns were nesting in the short grass, two nests 
of spotted sandpipers were found, Wilson's phalaropes were frying 
about, and specimens of northern phalaropes and semipalmated sand- 
pipers were collected. In the long grass we found a pintail's nest 
with nine eggs in the process of hatching and five ducks' nests, with 
apparently fresh eggs, which we took to be baldpates, though we 
could not identify them with certainty, as the birds were not in- 
cubating. On the higher portion of the island, among the tall dead 
weeds, we found three ducks' nests, referred to hereafter under the 
American merganser, which we were unable to satisfactorily identify. 
The California and ring-billed gull colony occupied the whole of 



126 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

the main portion of the island, which was thickly covered with their 
nests. We could form no accurate idea of their number, as we did 
not have time to count the nests ; but to say that there were at least 
1,000 pairs of each species would be a conservative statement. The 
nests of the ring-billed gulls were chiefly on the higher portion of 
the island, while those of the California gulls were mostly around 
the shores and on a bare, flat point, though both species were some- 
what intermingled where the two colonies came together. I should 
say that about half of the eggs had hatched, for we found hundreds 
of the downy young hiding among the scanty vegetation and saw 
them swimming out from the shores in large numbers. This island 
was visited again by the other members of our party July 18-21, 
1906, when they found the bird population of the little island in- 
creased by a nesting colony of 14 pairs of American white pelicans 
and 4 pairs of double-crested cormorants. 

The California gulls' nests in this colony were well made of dead 
weeds, rubbish, straw, and feathers. Most of them were on the bare 
dry ground on the open shores, but many of them were actually in 
the water ; probably these latter were originally built on the dry 
beach, but recent heavy rains had raised the level of the lake and 
surrounded them with water; fortunately they had been built high 
enough to keep the eggs and young dry. The nests varied greatly 
in size ; average nests measured from 14 to 18 inches in diameter. The 
inner cavity was usually 7 inches wide by 2 inches deep; the outer 
edges of the nests were built up from 2 to 5 inches above the ground. 
One extra large nest measured 26 inches in diameter and 7 inches 
high. 

Mr. W. L. Finley (1907) found an interesting colony of California 
and ring-billed gulls on a tule island in Lower Klamath Lake, Oregon, 
in May, 1905 ; I quote from his account of it as follows : 

We were led to the place by watching the course of the small flocks that 
spread out over the lake in the morning and returned homeward about dusk 
each evening. From a full mile away, with our field glass, we could see the 
gulls rising and circling over the low-lying islands. As we rowed nearer 
the birds came out to meet us, cackling excitedly at the dubious-looking craft 
approaching so near their homes. They swam about on all sides, curiously 
following in the wake of our boat. Cormorants flapped along over the surface, 
pelicans rose heavily from the water, and gulls and terns got thicker and thicker, 
until when the nose of the boat pushed in at the edge of the island, the air 
seemed completely filled with a crying, chaotic swarm. We stepped out among 
the reeds, but had to tread cautiously to keep from breaking eggs or killing 
young birds. Many youngsters crouched low in their tracks and others scudded 
off in all directions. 

Although there were at least 500 pairs of gulls nesting so close together, yet 
housekeeping was in no sense a communal matter. The nests were within 2 
or 3 feet of each other, but each pair of gulls had its own home spot, and 
the invasion of that place by any other gull was the challenge for a fight 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 24 



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California Gull. 

For description see page 331. 



A. C. Bent. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF 1STORTH AMERICAN" GULLS AND TERNS. 127 

Several times we were the excited spectators of fights that were going on just 
outside our tent. I watched one old hen, who was very angry because she 
could not find her chicks. As one of her neighbors lit near she grabbed the 
tail of the intruder and gave it a sharp jerk. At that both birds grasped each 
other by the bill and a lively set-to followed. They pulled and tugged till 
suddenly the old hen let go and grabbed her opponent by the neck and began 
shaking and hanging on with all the tenacity of a bull pup, till the intruder 
got enough and departed, leaving the victor with a mouthful of feathers. 

Mr. Oliver Davie (1889) says of the nests of the California gull: 

The nests of this species are made on the ground or built on rocks, and 
sometimes where the birds are breeding in vast colonies the nests are placed 
on stunted sage or greasewood bushes. They are built of sticks, grass, and 
a few feathers. 

Eggs. — As with most water birds, only one brood is raised in a 
season. The usual set consists of three eggs, but two are often con- 
sidered sufficient ; four eggs are laid occasionally, and five have been 
reported. The eggs are similar to other gulls' eggs, but they are 
usually handsomer and often more boldly marked with striking 
colors. The shell is thin and lusterless. The shape varies from short 
ovate to elongate ovate. It is usually more pointed than in other 
gulls' eggs, and is sometimes nearly ovate pyriform. 

The ground color shows a variety of shades from " Saccardo's 
umber " or " buffy brown," in the darker specimens, to " light drab," 
" smoke gray," or " olive buff," in the lighter specimens, which are 
much commoner. The commonest types of eggs are spotted more or 
less evenly with rather small spots of irregular sizes and shapes, but 
many of them are boldly marked with large spots and blotches ; often 
lighter and brighter shades of brown seem to be overlaid on spots 
of darker brown or gray, producing handsome effects. Some eggs 
are oddly decorated with fantastic scrawls and irregular lines, such 
as are seen on murres' eggs. These markings are generally in the 
darker and richer shades of brown, such as "bone brown," "olive 
brown," "warm sepia," and "Vandyke brown." Nearly all eggs 
show underlying spots of " light violet gray," or similar colors. The 
measurements of 50 eggs in the United States National Museum aver- 
age 67.5 by 45.5 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes 
measure 71.5 by 47.5, 69 by 50.5, 57.5 by 41, and 65.5 by 40.5 
millimeters. 

Young. — I have no data on the period of incubation, which is 
probably about the same as with other large gulls. Probably both 
sexes incubate. The young are quite precocial; after a few days in 
the nest, they learn to run about and hide among the stones or under 
the vegetation near their nests. They are good swimmers and, even 
when very small, will take to the water readily and swim away until 



128 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

driven back by their parents, who keep a careful watch over them. 
Mr. Finley (1907) says of their behaviors at this time : 

I soon discovered that their greatest anxiety seemed to be to keep their 
children crouching low in the nest so they would not run away and get lost 
in the crowd. I saw one young gull start to run off through the reeds, but 
he hadn't gone a yard before the mother dived at him with a blow that sent 
him rolling. He got up dazed and started off in a new direction, but she 
rapped him again on the head till he was glad to crouch down in the dry 
reeds. 

The parents seemed to recognize their own chicks largely by location. Sev- 
eral times I saw old birds pounce upon youngsters that were running about 
and beat them unmercifully. It seemed to be as much the duty of a gull 
mother to beat her neighbor's children if they didn't stay home as to whip 
her own if they moved out of the nest, but often this would lead to a rough 
and tumble fight among the old birds. Sometimes a young gull would start 
to swim off in the water, but it never went far before it was pounced upon 
and driven back shoreward. 

Plumages. — The young bird, when first hatched, is covered with 
thick, soft down of plain, light colors to match its surroundings, 
" light buff " to " cartridge buff," brightest on the head and breast ; the 
upper parts and throat are clouded or variegated with light grayish, 
and the head is sparingly spotted with dull black. These colors fade 
out to a dirty grayish white as the bird grows older. The juvenal 
plumage is much like that of the herring gull ; the head and under- 
pays are dark and mottled, the dusky markings prevailing; the 
upper parts are boldly mottled, each feather being broadly edged 
with buffy white and centrally dusky. The first winter plumage, 
which is acquired early in the fall by a partial molt of the body 
feathers, is everywhere mottled with dusky, the underparts, es- 
pecially the neck and breast, being tinged with cinnamon; the tail, 
which in the young ring-billed gull is basally gray, and the primaries 
are uniform brownish black and the bill is dark. This plumage is 
worn for nearly a year or until the first postnuptial molt, when 
the bird is a year old. This molt is complete, producing the second 
winter plumage, which is more or less mottled with dusky, except 
on the mantle, which now becomes more or less clear " gull gray." 
The new primaries are nearly black, but with little or no white 
tips ; the tail is white at the base, becoming dusky near the tip. The 
bill becomes yellow at the base, but the outer half remains dusky. 
A partial prenuptial molt occurs during the latter part of the 
winter or early spring in both old and young birds, producing 
whiter heads and necks. 

A nearly adult winter plumage is acquired at the second post- 
nuptial molt, when the bird is a little over 2 years old. At this 
molt, which is complete, the black primaries with limited white 
tips and the pure white tail, often subterminally marked with dusky, 
are acquired; the bill becomes wholly yellow. Winter adults have 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 129 

elongated dusky markings on the crown and a necklace of dusky 
spots on the hind neck, which are lost at the partial prenuptial 
molt before the next breeding season. The bright chrome yellow 
of the upper mandible and the vermilion of the lower mandible are 
characteristic of the breeding season. Subsequent seasonal molts 
of the adult are merely repetitions of the complete postnuptial in 
the summer and the partial prenuptial molt in early spring, involv- 
ing only the head and neck. 

Food. — The feeding habits of the California gull make it one of 
the most useful of birds to the agriculturist of the western plains, 
where it makes its summer home. Kev. 'JS. H. Goodwin (1904) says 
of its habits in Utah : 

I have watched them for hours as they circled about the newly plowed 
field, or followed close behind the plowman, as blackbirds do in some localities, 
or sunned themselves on the ridges of the furrows after a hearty meal of 
worms. I have studied them as they fared up and down the river in search of 
dead fish and other garbage, or assembled in countless numbers in some retired, 
quiet slough where they rent the air with their harsh, discordant cries and 
demoniac laughter, or sailed on graceful wing in rising circles till lost in the 
deep blue of heaven. 

Mr. Dutcher (1905) publishes the following interesting letter from 
Mr. John E. Cox, of the Utah Board of Agriculture : 

Gulls go all over the State for insects, the greatest number visiting the beet 
fields, where they keep down the crickets, grasshoppers, cutworms, etc. They 
took a new diet this summer. Some alfalfa fields were so badly honeycombed 
with mice holes and runs that it was impossible to irrigate them, and they 
were plowed up, mostly for beet culture. When the water was turned into 
the irrigation ditches the mice were forced out of their holes, and the gulls 
then caught them. They became so perfect in their work that they kept 
abreast of the head of the water and picked up every mouse that appeared. 
When gorged with victims they would vomit them up in piles on the ditch 
bank and recommence their feeding. Gulls are sacred in Utah, and are so 
tame that oftentimes they may be caught by hand as they follow the plow so 
closely. 

Dr. A. K. Fisher (1893) reports that a specimen of this species, 
shot at Owens Lake, California, "on December 28, had its craw full 
of duck meat and feathers, and from the actions of its associates 
when a duck was shot it was evident that they prey upon such game, 
since the lake affords little other food." During the two seasons that 
I spent in Saskatchewan we saw the California and ring-billed gulls 
almost daily visiting the garbage heaps on the outskirts of Maple 
Creek, where they found a good supply of food to vary their natural 
diet of insects and other animal food picked up on the prairies and 
about the lakes. During their winter sojourn on the Pacific coast 
they follow the example of others of their kind and become largely 
scavengers about the harbors. They also, probably, feed on fish to 
some extent. 



130 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Behavior. — Mr. Finley (1907) refers to their powers of flight as 

follows : 

These gulls are masters in the air. I have watched by the hour birds similar 
to these following along in the wake of a steamer, but had never before had 
such chances with a camera. Often they poise, resting apparently motionless 
on outstretched wings. It is a difficult feat. A small bird can not do it. A 
sparrow hawk can only poise by the rapid beating of his wings. The gull 
seems to hang perfectly still ; yet there is never an instant when the wings and 
tail are not constantly adjusted to meet the different air currents; just as in 
shooting the rapids in a canoe the paddle must be adjusted every moment to 
meet the different eddies, currents, and whirlpools, and it is never the same in 
two different instants. A gull by the perfect adjustment of its body, without 
a single flap of the wings, makes headway straight in the teeth of the wind. I 
saw one retain a perfect equilibrium in a stiff breeze and at the same time 
reach forward and scratch his ear. 

Mr. Dawson (1909) pays the following tribute to their prowess 
on the wing : 

Graceful, effortless, untiring, but above all mysterious, is that power of 
propulsion by which the bird moves forward into the teeth of the gale ; indeed, 
is advanced all the more certainly and freely when the wind is strong. From 
the deck of a steamer making 15 miles an hour against a 15-knot breeze, I once 
stretched my hand toward a soaring gull. He lay suspended in mid-air without 
the flutter of a feather, while the air rushed past him at the rate of 30 miles 
an hour; and he maintained the same relative position to my hand, at 5 or 6 
feet, for about a minute. When he tired of the game, he shot forward. And 
again, there was not in the motion the slightest perceptible effort of propulsion, 
but only a slightly sharper inclination of the body and wings downward. We 
see clearly how it must be, yet we can not understand it. The gull is a kite 
and gravity the string. The bird is a continually falling body, and the wind is 
continually preventing the catastrophe. Yes, we see it — but then, gravity 
isn't a string, you know; and so why doesn't the wind take the kite along 
with it? Well, there you are; and not even Hamilton, who discovered quater- 
nions, could have given the mathematics of it. 

My knowledge of the vocal powers of the California gull is con- 
fined to what I heard and noted on its breeding grounds, where its 
vocabulary was limited. The ordinary cry was a soft, low " kow, 
kow, kow," or " kuk, kuk, kuk," much like the notes of other gulls. 
When the birds became much excited or alarmed they indulged in 
shrill, sharp, piercing cries. Gulls are usually silent birds, but while 
feeding, quarreling, or showing active emotions, they have a variety 
of notes to express their feelings or to communicate their ideas to 
their fellows, all of which seem to be understood. 

California gulls seems to be quiet, gentle, harmless birds, and I 
have no evidence to show that they do any appreciable damage to 
the various species with which they are associated on their breeding 
grounds, though they do occasionally steal a few eggs from un- 
protected nests. They have been found nesting in colonies with 
ring-billed gulls, Caspian terns, white pelicans, double-crested 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 131 

cormorants, and great blue herons. So far as I know they have 
no formidable enemies among birds and are not much molested 
by man. They select for their breeding grounds islands in remote 
lakes far from the haunts of man, where they are probably safe 
until the encroachments of civilization drive them out. They are 
not suspicious or wild; in fact, they are much tamer than most 
gulls, but they do not seem to be fond of human society. 

Winter. — The fall migration is westward to the Pacific coast or 
southwestward to the large inland lakes of the Southwestern States 
and Mexico, where they spend the winter, associating on the coast 
with various other species of gulls. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Western North America. East to Great Slave 
Lake and northeastern North Dakota (Stump and Devils Lake). 
South to northwestern Wyoming (Yellowstone Lake), northern Utah 
(Great Salt Lake), western Nevada (Pyramid Lake), and north- 
eastern California (Eagle Lake). West to central southern Oregon 
(Klamath Lakes) and central British Columbia. North to northern 
Mackenzie (Anderson River region). Occurs in summer from 
Washington (Bellingham Bay) to southeastern Alaska (Ketchikan), 
but not known to breed there. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservations : 
In California, Clear Lake; in Nevada, Anaho Island (Pyramid 
Lake); in Oregon, Klamath and Malheur Lakes; in Wyoming, 
Yellowstone National Park. 

Winter range. — Pacific coast, from southern British Columbia 
southward to southwestern Mexico (San Mateo), and from northern 
Utah (Great Salt Lake) southward to the Gulf of California; rarely 
east to the coast of Texas. 

Spring migration. — Northeastward to the interior. Early dates of 
arrival: North Dakota, Devils Lake, April 24; British Columbia, 
Okanagan Lake, April 11. Late dates of departure: Lower Cali- 
fornia, San Jose del Cabo, May 17; California, Monterey, May 19. 

Fall migration. — Southwestward toward the coast. Early dates 
of arrival: British Columbia, Chilliwack, August 26; Washington, 
Seattle, August 31 ; Oregon, Netarts Bay, September 8 ; California, 
Monterey, August 21 to October 9; Lower California, Magdalena 
Bay, November 24. Late dates of departure: Mackenzie, Hay 
Eiver, November 5 ; Kansas, Reno County, October 20. 

Casual records. — Has been recorded in the Hawaiian Islands 
(Brj^an) and in Japan (Seebohm^ 



132 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Egg dates. — Utah and Nevada : Fifty-six records, May 8 to June 
26; twenty-eight records, May 13 to 20. North Dakota and Sas- 
katchewan : Twelve records, June 4 to 22. California : Six records, 
May 18 to 25. 

LARUS DELAWARENSIS Ord. 

RING-BILLED GULL. 

HABITS. 

Audubon (1840) referred to this species as " The Common Ameri- 
can Gull," a title which would hardly be warranted to-day, although, 
with the possible exception of the herring gull, it is the most widely 
distributed and most universally common of any of the large gulls. 
In Audubon's time it was probably more widely distributed and cer- 
tainly more abundant in some localities than it is now; he refers to 
its breeding on "several islands between Boston and Eastport, an- 
other close to Grand Manan at the entrance of the Bay of Fundy, 
the great Gannet Rock of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and certain 
rocky isles in the deep bays on the coast of Labrador." I have 
visited all of these localities without finding or hearing of any 
breeding colonies of ring-billed gulls, and I can not find anything in 
the published records to indicate that they have bred at any of these 
places in recent years, except a few shifting colonies near Cape 
Whittle in southern Labrador, found by Mr. M. Abbott Frazar 
(1887) in 1884, and one found by Dr. Charles W. Townsend, referred 
to below. The ring-billed gull yields readily to persecution, is easily 
driven away from its breeding grounds, and seems to prefer to breed 
in remote unsettled regions, far from the haunts of man. It could 
never survive the egging depredations which the herring gull has 
withstood successfully ; hence its breeding range has been gradually 
curtailed as the country has become settled. Although its former 
breeding range was nearly as extensive as that of the herring gull, 
it is now mainly restricted to the interior, in the lakes of the prairies 
and plains of the Northern States and Canada, where it far out- 
numbers the herring gull and is still the common gull. Here it is 
probably holding its own except where civilization is driving it out. 
In North Dakota in 1901, in Saskatchewan in 1905 and 1906, and in 
Manitoba in 1913 we saw it almost daily about nearly all the lakes 
we visited and we found numerous breeding colonies. Dr. P. L. 
Hatch (1892) stated that they had become much more numerous in 
Minnesota through a gradual increase since 1857, being " extensively 
distributed over the lacustrine regions of the Commonwealth, breed- 
ing in all places adapted to their habits." 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 25 



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Big Stick Lake, Saskatchewan. 



A. C. Bent. 




Big Stick Lake, Saskatchewan. 



A. C. Bent. 



Ring-Billed Gull. 

For description see page 331 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 133 

Courtship. — According to Audubon (1840) mating takes place be- 
fore the birds reach their breeding grounds. He says: 

When spring has fairly commenced, our common gulls assemble in parties of 
hundreds, and alight on mud flats or sandy beaches, in out eastern estuaries 
and bays. For awhile they regularly resort to these places, which to the gulls 
are what the scratching or tooting grounds are to the pinnated grouse. The 
male gulls, however, although somewhat pugnacious, and not very inveterate in 
their quarrels, making up by clamor for the deficiency of prowess in their 
tournaments. The males bow to the females with swollen throats, and walk 
round them with many odd gesticulations. As soon as the birds are paired they 
give up their animosities, and for the rest of the season live together on the 
best terms. After a few weeks spent in these preparatory pleasures, the flocks 
take to wing, and betake themselves to their breediDg places. 

Nesting. — My first experience with the nesting habits of the ring- 
billed gull was on " the enchanted isles " of Stump Lake, North 
Dakota, three small islands in a western arm of the lake, now in- 
cluded in the Stump Lake Reservation. On May 31, 1901, and again 
on June 15, 1901, I visited these interesting islands, with Mr. Her- 
bert K. Job (1898) who had previously described and named them. 
Two of the islands contained breeding colonies of ring-billed gulls, 
consisting of about 100 pairs each; one held a colony of about 75 
pairs of double- crested cormorants; and one a large colony of com- 
mon terns. All of them offered suitable nesting sites for various 
species of ducks, of which we found no less than 40 nests on June 15. 
Certainly the bird population of these little islands warranted Mr. 
Job's title. The gulls' nests were placed upon the ground along the 
upper edges of the beaches and among the rocks and bowlders which 
were scattered all over the islands. They were made of dried grasses 
and weeds, sometimes of small sticks; were lined with finer grasses 
and were often decorated with feathers. On May 31 all the nests 
contained eggs, many of which had been incubated a week or 10 
days ; on June 15 not over one quarter of the eggs had hatched and 
many of them still held incomplete sets. 

One of the most interesting gull colonies I have ever found was 
on a small island in Big Stick Lake, Saskatchewan, on June 14, 
1906, where large numbers of this and the preceding species were 
breeding, together with a number of other water birds. I have 
already described this colony more fully in my account of the nest- 
ing habits of the California gull. The nests of the ring-billed gulls 
were on the higher portions of the island, somewhat apart from those 
of the larger species, but mingled with them to some extent. The 
nests were made of dead weeds, straws, rubbish, and feathers; they 
measured from 10 to 12 inches in diameter, and the inner cavity 
was about 9 inches across and 2 inches deep. Most of the nests were 
in open situations, but some were partially hidden among the rocks 



134 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

and low bushes. About half of the eggs had hatched, and the 
downy young were running about or hiding. 

Ring-billed gulls were common at Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba, 
in 1913. We saw them almost daily and examined several breeding 
colonies. They were on small rocky islets or reefs, where bowlders 
had been piled up a few feet above high water and a little soil had 
accumulated about them. On one very small reef, not over 25 yards 
long, I counted 10 nests of ring-billed gulls and. 45 nests of double- 
crested cormorants. The islet was thickly covered with nests of the 
common tern, of which I estimated that there were about a thousand 
pairs. Another thickly populated island, but slightly larger, was 
visited on June 19. It was similar to the other reefs — an accumula- 
tion of bowlders, with sandy or stony shores and some soil in the 
center, sparsely overgrown with nettles. A cloud of gulls and terns 
were hovering over it, which I estimated to contain about 100 pairs 
of ring-billed gulls and 500 pairs of common terns. There was 
also a small colony of double-crested cormorants nesting on the 
rocks at one end. The nests of the gulls and terns were closely in- 
termingled, sometimes three or four nests within one square yard, 
showing that the two species were living in apparent harmony. The 
gulls' nests were very poorly built affairs, the poorest I had ever seen, 
consisting in many cases of mere hollows lined with a few sticks 
and straws. Some of them were more elaborate and some were pret- 
tily decorated with feathers or lined with green weeds or leaves. 
Most of the nests contained three eggs, but many of them only two. 
No young were seen. 

Audubon (1840) found them breeding on the Gannet Rock, early 
in June, " on the shelves toward the summit, along with the guille- 
mots, while the kittiwakes had secured their nests far below." This 
undoubtedly refers to Bird Rock in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where 
none of this species have been found breeding in recent years. 

Dr. Charles W. Townsend writes me : 

On July 16, 1915, I found a breeding colony of ring-billed gulls on Gull Island 
near Sealnet Point or Point au Maurier, on the Canadian Labrador coast. The 
island is close to the shore, is composed of granitic rock with sparse vegetation 
of grass and low herbs, and is some 10 acres in extent. On the highest ground 
about 200 pairs of ring-billed gulls had their nests. These nests were composed 
of moss, sprigs of curlew-berry vine, dried grass, and dried-weed stalks. The 
nests were 12 inches in outside diameter, 6 or 7 inside diameter, generally very 
thin, but sometimes built up to a height of 3 or 4 inches. They were placed 
on the bare rock or among the grass. A few herring gulls, eiders, razor-billed 
auks, and black guillemots were also nesting on the island. 

Mr. William L. Finley (1907) describes a large colony of Cali- 
fornia and ring-billed gulls which he found breeding on a marshy 
island of floating tules in Klamath Lake, Oregon, which is a decided 
departure from their usual habit of nesting on solid ground. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 



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G. G. Cantwell. 




Big Stick Lake, Saskatchewan. 



Ring-Billed Gull. 

For description see page 332. 



A. C. Bent. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 135 

Mr. George (Jr. Cantwell has sent me a photograph of a remarkable 
nest of a ring-billed gull which he found at Prince William Sound, 
Alaska, in June, 1912. His notes state that the nest was " made of 
usual material, but unique in the matter of situation, placed in the 
crown of a dwarf spruce, that grew to the height of about 4 feet 
above the surface of a small rock, upon which it had taken root. 
The rock set in an open bay of the salt water, about one-half a mile 
from shore. On other near-by islands a colony of Arctic terns were 
nesting, and on the bars of a stream on the near-by mainland other 
ring-billed gulls had nests. This was the only nest noted in the 
trees there, or on any other occasion." 

Eggs. — The ring-billed gull normally raises but one brood, and the 
full set usually consists of three eggs ; often only two eggs are laid, 
and sets of four are very rare. The eggs are subject to the usual varia- 
tions in gulls' eggs. In shape they are usually ovate or short ovate ; 
the shell is smooth, thin, and almost lusterless. The ground color 
varies from " Brussel's brown " or " snuff brown " to " pinkish buff " 
or " cartridge buff " in the commoner types of eggs ; in the greener 
types of eggs, which are rarer, the ground color varies from " deep 
olive buff " to " pale olive buff," or in some cases to " yellowish glau- 
cous," which makes the egg look much greener than it really is. The 
prevailing types of eggs show the usual markings of gulls' eggs — 
spots and blotches of various sizes and shapes irregularly distributed ; 
some eggs are finely speckled all over; in some the markings are 
confluent into a ring; and some are handsomely decorated with ir- 
regular scrawls, splashes, or blotches. Nearly all eggs show under- 
lying spots or blotches of various shades of " quaker drab," lavender 
or " mouse gray." These markings are very faint in the lighter types. 
The heavier and darker markings are made up of various shades of 
brown, often several shades on the same egg overlapping each other 
as if superimposed ; these vary from " blackish brown " or " fuscous 
black " to " burnt umber," " russet," or " Dresden brown." Often the 
darkest markings are on the lightest colored eggs, making strong 
contrasts. The measurements of 40 eggs in the United States Na- 
tional Museum and the author's collections average 59.3 by 42.3 milli- 
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 64.5 by 42.5, 
59.5 by 44.5, 54 by 40.5, and 60.5 by 40 millimeters. 

Young. — The period of incubation is about 21 days. The young 
remain in the nest for a few days, but soon learn to run about and 
hide among the rocks or under the vegetation near their nests. They 
learn to swim at an early age, and may often be seen swimming out 
from the shores, of their island home when disturbed. They are care- 
fully guarded by their anxious parents and driven back to dry land 
as soon as the dangerous intruder has departed. They seem to ap- 
preciate the value of their protective coloring, and will remain hid- 
174785—21 10 



136 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

den until forced to run, when they become very lively. They are fed 
by their parents until able to fly and forage for themselves. 

Plumages. — The downy young have at least two distinct color 
phases, both of which are often found in the same nest. In the gray 
phase the upper parts are "smoke gray" or "pale smoke gray"; 
in the buffy phase the upper parts are " pinkish buff " or " vinaceous 
buff." They are lighter below and almost white on the breast ; they 
are distinctly spotted with " hair brown " or " sepia " on the head and 
neck, and more faintly mottled with the same color on the back. 

The juvenal plumage is not fully acquired until the young bird is 
about fully grown, the down disappearing last on the chest and 
thighs. The upper parts are heavily and boldly mottled; each 
feather of the back, scapulars, lesser wing coverts, and tertials is 
centrally dusky, broadly tipped, and margined with " pinkish buff," 
most conspicuously on the scapulars. The greater wing coverts are 
largely " gull gray," becoming dusky near the tips, and some are 
tipped or edged with buffy. The primaries are mostly black, with 
narrow white tips ; the tail is largely " gull gray," somewhat mottled, 
and with a broad subterminal band of dusky, tipped with white 
or buffy white. The tail is never wholly dusky, as in the young 
California gull, a good diagnostic character. The under parts are 
largely white ; the crown and breast are heavily mottled with dusky, 
and the sides are barred with the same. The bill is dusky, with the 
inner half of the lower mandible light j^ellowish. 

Except for a molt of some of the body plumage, the first winter 
plumage is a continuation of the juvenal; the buffy edgings fade 
out to white and wear away; many new feathers, partially "gull 
gray" with dusky markings, come in on the back; and the dusky 
markings fade and wear away or are replaced by white on the 
breast and head during the winter. A partial prenuptial molt in- 
creases the amount of white on the head and under parts. 

A complete postnuptial molt produces the second winter plum- 
age, in which the back is mainly or wholly " gull gray," the feathers 
narrowly edged with whitish, and the greater wing-coverts are 
largely the same; the lesser wing-coverts are still mottled with 
dusky; there is much dusky in the tertials and secondaries, and the 
primaries are plain brownish black. The tail is whiter basaliy, but 
has a broad subterminal dusky band. The head and neck are heavily 
streaked and spotted with dusky, but the under parts are mainly 
white. The inner half of the bill is yellowish and the outer half 
black. The partial prenuptial molt produces pure white under 
parts and nearly a pure white head, with a clear " gull gray " back. 

At the next complete molt, the second postnuptial, when the 
bird is 2 years old, the fully adult plumage is perhaps assumed by 
some birds; but many, probably a decided majority, still retain signs 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 137 

of immaturity during the third year. The new primaries in such 
birds are black, but they have only a faint suggestion of the subter- 
minal white spot on the outer primary or none at all; undoubtedly 
these spots increase in size with the successive molts. There is 
more or less dusky in the tertials, and the tail has the black sub- 
terminal band more or less clearly indicated. The remainder of the 
plumage and the bill is now like the adult. Such birds would be- 
come fully adult at the age of 3 years. I have one bird in my series 
which is quite heavily mottled with dusky on the breast, but is other- 
wise fully adult. 

The complete postnuptial molt of both adults and young occurs 
mainly in August and September, but I have seen the molt be- 
ginning as early as June. The partial prenuptial molt, involving 
the contour feathers only, occurs mainly in March. The winter adult 
is similar to the spring adult, except for a few narrow streaks of 
dusky on the crown and hind neck; these are less in evidence in 
older birds. 

Food. — The feeding habits of this species make it as fully bene- 
ficial as any of the gulls. Throughout the agricultural regions of 
the western plains, where it is more abundant, it is often seen in the 
spring following the plow, picking up worms, grubs, grasshoppers, 
and other insects. It also does effective work by feeding on field 
mice and other small rodents. Dr. J. A. Allen, according to Baird, 
Brewer, and Ridgway (1884), states in regard to their feeding habits 
in Salt Lake Valley : 

At tlie period of his visit these birds spent much of their time on the sand 
bars of Weber River, and at certain hours of the day rose in the air to feast 
on the grasshoppers, on which they seemed at this time almost wholly to sub- 
sist. The stomachs of those gulls that were killed were not only filled with 
grasshoppers, but some birds had stuffed themselves so full that these could 
be seen when the birds opened their mouths. And it was a curious fact that 
the gulls captured the grasshoppers in the air and not by walking over the 
ground, as they have been said to do. Sailing around in broad circles, as though 
soaring merely for pleasure, the birds seized the flying grasshoppers as easily, 
if not as gracefully, as a swallow while in rapid flight secures its prey of smaller 
insects. 

I have seen ring-billed gulls hovering over a flock of feeding red- 
breasted mergansers and darting down at them as they rose to the 
surface. The} 7 were apparently trying to rob them of or make them 
drop some of the fish they had caught. 

We found this and the foregoing species frequenting regularly the 
garbage dumps on the outskirts of the prairie towns and acting as 
scavengers along the shores of the lakes in Saskatchewan. On the 
seacoasts it does its part with other species in cleaning up the floating 
refuse in our harbors, and gathers in large numbers where garbage 
is regularly dumped, feasting on the miscellaneous diet it finds. It 



138 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

does considerable damage on its breeding grounds by destroying the 
eggs of other species associated with it. I have seen a party of ring- 
billed gulls break and suck nearly every egg in a colony of double- 
crested cormorants when the latter had been kept off their nests for 
an hour or two ; but I doubt if they would have dared to molest them 
if the cormorants had not been driven away by our presence. It 
occasionally robs the nests of the avocet, but it does not seem to molest 
the nests of the common tern, with which it is intimately associated ; 
and I have never known of its disturbing any of the ducks which nest 
on its breeding grounds. Probably the terns are able to defend their 
eggs and the duck ? s nests are too well hidden. 

Behavior. — The flight of the ring-billed gull is not markedly dif- 
ferent from that of the other larger gulls; it is light and graceful 
as well as strong and long sustained. It can poise stationary in the 
air when facing a good breeze without moving its wings except to 
adjust them to the changing air currents, and can even sail along 
against the wind in the same manner. It is often so poised while 
looking for food on the water, but if the wind conditions are not 
favorable it is obliged to hover. When food is discovered it either 
plunges straight downward or floats down more slowly in a spiral 
curve, and picks up its food without wetting its plumage. When 
alighting on the water its wings are held high above it as it drops 
lightly down with dangling feet. It swims gracefully and buoyantly, 
sitting lightly on the surface. It rises neatly from the water. It has no 
very distinctive field marks and closely resembles several other species, 
but it is somewhat smaller than the California gull and very much 
smaller than the herring gull ; it also has a lighter gray mantle and 
less white in its black wing tips. The black ring in its bill is not 
always in evidence and can not be seen at any distance. 

Its notes are similar to those of other closely related gulls, but 
they are on a higher key than those of the two larger species referred 
to above. When alarmed or when its breeding grounds are invaded 
it utters a shrill, piercing note of protest — kree, kreeee — like the cry 
of a hawk, but when its excitement has somewhat subsided this note 
is softened and modified and the subdued kow, how koiv notes are 
often heard from a flock of gulls floating overhead. It is often 
noisy while feeding, while a cloud of hovering gulls show their ex- 
citement by a chorus of loud squealing notes and shrill screams. 
While pursuing its ordinary vocations it is usually silent, except for 
an occasional soft, mellow koivk. 

The ring-billed gull is a highly gregarious species, both on its 
breeding grounds and in its winter resorts, congregating in large 
flocks of its own species and associating with a variety of other 
species, with all of whom it seems to live in perfect harmony. Ex- 
cept for its cowardly, egg-robbing habits, it is a gentle and harmless 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 139 

creature. It seems to have no enemies from which it has much to 
fear except man. Its universal habit of nesting on islands saves it 
from the attacks of predatory animals. 

Winter. — During the winter months much of its time is spent at 
sea following the coastwise vessels in company with other gulls in 
search of such morsels as it may pick up, hovering in clouds about 
our harbors where garbage is dumped, or resting in large flocks on 
sand bars or mud flats at low tide — a season of rest and recreation, 
with freedom to roam where it will. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Mainly in southern Canada. East to Hamilton 
Inlet and southern Labrador (Point au Maurier). South to northern 
New York (Adirondacks, casually), central Ontario (Muskoka 
Lake, Georgian Bay, etc.), Lakes Huron and Michigan (formerly), 
Wisconsin (Green Bay, formerly), northern North Dakota (Devil's 
Lake region) , and northern Utah (Great Salt Lake) . West to central 
southern Oregon (Klamath Lakes) British Columbia (Shuswap 
Lake), and southern Alaska (Prince William Sound). North to cen- 
tral Mackenzie (Great Slave Lake), eastern Keewatin (north of Fort 
Churchill), and James Bay (Fort George). 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservations : 
In Oregon, Malheur Lake ; in North Dakota, Stump Lake. 

Winter range. — From Massachusetts (irregularly) southward 
along the Atlantic coast to Florida and Cuba ; and along the Gulf 
Coast to Mexico (Tehuantepec) ; west to the Pacific coasts of Mex- 
ico and the United States, southward to Oaxaca, and northward to 
British Columbia; in the interior north to Colorado (Barr Lakes), 
more rarely Idaho (Fort Sherman), Montana (Lewiston), and the 
Great Lakes (Chicago and Detroit). 

Spring migration. — Northward along Atlantic coast and in the 
interior; northeastward from the Pacific coast. Early dates of ar- 
rival: Connecticut, Saybrook, March 8; Newfoundland, April 19; 
Missouri, St. Louis, March 7; Iowa, Keokuk, March 8, and Storm 
Lake, March 15: South Dakota, Sioux Falls, March 19, and Ver- 
milion, March 31; North Dakota, Devils Lake, average April 16, 
earliest April 11; southern Manitoba, average April .25, earliest 
April 21 : Mackenzie, Pelican Eiver, May 9. Late dates of departure : 
Florida, Big Gasparilla Pass, May 22; North Carolina, Pea Island, 
May 10 ; New Jersey, Atlantic City, June 20 ; Texas, Corpus Christi, 
April 12; Louisiana, New Orleans, April 28; Missouri, Kansas City, 
May 3 ; Wisconsin, Madison, May 17. 

Fall migration. — Eastward, southward, and westward to the 
coasts. Early dates of arrival: Massachusetts, Chatham, Septem- 



140 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

ber 7 ; South Carolina, Charleston, September 26 ; Florida, Fernan- 
dina, September 16; Mississippi, Bay St. Louis, October 10; Califor- 
nia, Los Angeles County, September 17. Late dates of departure: 
Gulf of St. Lawrence, Anticosti Island, September 18; Massachu- 
setts, Woods Hole, November 17; North Dakota, Harrisburg, Octo- 
ber 17 ; Colorado, Denver, November 12 ; Utah, Provo, November 30. 

Casual records. — Accidental in Hawaiian Islands (one taken in 
winter 1901) and in Bermuda (January 1, 1849). 

Egg dates. — North Dakota : Forty-eight records, May 9 to June 22 ; 
twenty-four records, May 31 to June 15. Saskatchewan and Mani- 
toba: Seventeen records, June 4 to 23. Quebec Labrador: Ten 
records, June 20 to 30. 

LARUS BRACHYRHYNCHUS Richardson. 
SHORT-BILLED GULL. 

HABITS. 

The North American counterpart of the common mew gull of 
Europe is so closely related to it that many ornithologists question 
the specific distinction of the two species. The characters on which 
they are separated are very slight and not very constant ; there is so 
much individual variation in both forms that they seem to intergrade 
and may yet be proven to be no more than subspecies. The short- 
billed gull is a widely distributed and common species throughout 
the whole of the interior of Alaska and the northern portions of the 
northwest territories. It is a marsh-loving species and frequents all 
the flat marshy country of the coast and interior, as well as much of 
the wooded region in the vicinity of lakes, ponds, and streams. 

Spring. — Mr. Lucien M. Turner (1886) says: 

The short-billed gull arrives at St. Michael according to the openness of 
the season. It comes in few numbers as soon as large cracks are made in the 
ice. This may be early as the 1st of May or as late as the 25th. The season 
of 1874 was unusually open. Upon our arrival at St. Michael, on May 25, hun- 
dreds of these gulls were flying over the bay. In the course of a few days they 
became less, so that by the middle of June only few pairs were seen. In later 
years they were not abundant at any time, though the breaking up of the ice 
was accompanied with visits of numbers of them. 

Turner's failure to note them after the middle of June was doubt- 
less due to their being busy with family duties. Early in June they 
forsake the outer bays and scatter over the tundra where they con- 
struct their nests. Often their breeding places are several miles back 
from the coast, which they visit less frequently until after the young 
are on the wing. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 27 




Lake Athabaska, Saskatchewan. 



F. Harper. 







Lake Athabaska, Saskatchewan. 



F. Harper. 



Short-Billed Gull. 

For description see page 332. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 28 




St. Michael, Alaska. 



F. S. Hersey. 




St. Michael, Alaska. 



F. S. Hersey. 



Short-Billed Gull. 

For description see page 332. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 141 

Nesting. — Mr. Hersey found a nest of this gull near St. Michael, 
Alaska, on June 19, 1915, containing an egg on the point of hatch- 
ing and a young bird only a few hours' old. The nest was on a small 
islet in a tundra pond ; the islet was only a few yards long and about 
2 feet above the level of the water. The nest was merely a hollow 
in the ground, about 8 inches in diameter and 3J inches deep, scantily 
lined with dry grass ; it was located in the center and on the highest 
part of the islet. His notes say : 

When about one-eighth of a mile away one of the parents flew about above 
me screaming loudly. As I drew nearer the bird came lower down and when 
within 75 yards of the nest she new directly over it and hovered. While 
photographing it both birds darted repeatedly at my head, and when I 
finally left they followed me for half a mile. 

Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1900) made some interesting observations on 
the nesting habits of this species on the Kowak delta, Alaska. He 
writes : 

The lakes which the short-billed gulls mostly frequented were usually sur- 
rounded by spruce trees, which in the delta are more low and scrubby than 
farther in the interior. I had in vain searched for the gulls' nests on small 
bare islets in the lakes and on grassy points, such as the gulls with which I was 
previously familiar would be likely to select for nesting sites. Although I 
failed to find any sign of nests, still the birds, by their uneasy actions, inti- 
mated that there must be eggs or young somewhere. Finally on the 16th of 
June I determined to discover the secret, and, armed with patience, selected a 
secluded hiding place among some scrub spruces near a lake, yet where I had 
a good view of it. Two pairs of short-billed gulls kept flying about above me 
for a long time, occasionally alighting on the tops of the spruces surrounding 
the lake. I kept track of each of the four gulls as best I could, and finally saw 
one settle close down on the bushy top of a tree on the other side of the lake. 
Then it dawned on me that the nests might be in trees. I took my bearings on 
the tree, and started around the lake. Before I had nearly reached the vicinity 
I was met by the gulls, one of which began to dive at me again and again. 
It would fly high above me and then swoop down past my head with a shrill, 
startling scream. Just as the bird passed me it would void a limy mass of 
f.ic.vs. and with such disagreeable precision that I was soon streaked with 
white. On climbing the spruce, which was about 12 feet tall, I discovered the 
nest. It was almost completely hidden from below by the flat, bushy top of 
the spruce on which it was placed. The nest was a shapeless mass of slender 
twigs and hay, 9 inches across on top. There was scarcely any depression and 
I found the shells of two of the eggs broken on the ground beneath, probably 
pitched out by a severe wind of the day before. The single egg secured was 
considerably incubated. After I left the nest the gulls followed me a long 
ways, dashing down at me at intervals as before described. I found several 
more nests by carefully examining the bushy topped spruces around lakes, but 
none contained eggs. Probably the jaegers which I saw in the vicinity were 
responsible for this. One of the nests was only about 7 feet above the water 
on a leaning spruce at the edge of a pond. The rest of the nests were from 
10 to 20 feet above the ground in spruces growing nearest the water's edge. 



142 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Mr. Roderick McFarlane (1891), who collected many sets of 
eggs in the Anderson River region, says : 

Its nest is usually a small cavity in the sand by the side of a stream or a 
sheet of water; but it also frequently builds on a stump or tree, and in such 
cases dry twigs, hay, and mosses, are used in its construction. The parents do 
their utmost to drive away intruders. 

Eggs. — The short-billed gull ordinarily lays three eggs, but often 
only two. They are ovate or short ovate in shape; usually the 
former. The ground color varies from " Saccardo's umber " or " Isa- 
bella color " to "olive buff." The eggs are spotted and blotched 
evenly or irregularly or in a wreath near the larger end, with the 
darker shades of brown, such as " bone brown," " bister," " sepia," or 
" snuff brown " ; also with various shades of " brownish drab." 
Sometimes the eggs are finely scrawled. The measurements of 40 
eggs, in the United States National Museum average 57 by 41 milli- 
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 63 by 41.5, 
58.5 by 43, 50.5 by 40.5, and 51.5 by 37 millimeters. 

Plumages. — The young, when first hatched, is well covered with a 
warm coat of soft, thick down, " pale drab-gray " to " pale smoke- 
gray " on the upper parts, sides, and throat ; u pale pinkish buff " 
on the breast and belly ; and tinged with the latter color on the sides 
of the head and neck. The frontal and loral region is clear black. 
The sides of the head and neck are boldly and clearly spotted with 
black in a very distinct pattern, the spots coalescing into an indis- 
tinct Y on the crown; an irregular W on the occiput; a large, dis- 
tinct crescent on the cervix; and a small crescent on the throat. 
The remainder of the upper parts are heavily but less distinctly 
mottled with duller black, becoming grayer posteriorly. The under 
parts are unspotted. 

I have not seen any specimens showing the development of the 
first plumage from the downy stage, but I have a good series of 
young birds collected in August. This plumage shows considerable 
individual variation, but is always more or less heavily mottled both 
above and below. Often the throat, and sometimes the belly, is 
nearly or quite immaculate white ; sometimes the entire under parts, 
below the throat, as well as the neck and head, are uniform " drab- 
gray," or "vinaceous gray," and always these parts are heavily 
clouded with these colors. The feathers of the back, scapulars, and 
wing-coverts are centrally dusky and broadly edged with pale-grayish 
buff; the primaries are uniformly dusky; the rectrices are basally 
gray, somewhat mottled, with nearly the terminal half dusky, and 
white-tipped. From this plumage the progress toward maturity be- 
gins early and continues all through the first year, by fading, wear, 
and molt. The " gull gray " of the mantle sometimes begins to 
appear in November, and by April or May this color predominates 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 143 

on the back. The white increases on the head and underparts, so that 
in the spring some individuals are largely white below ; but in most 
cases the bellies are more or less clouded with dusky. The wings and 
tail also fade out to nearly white in the lighter areas. 

A complete postnuptial molt produces the second winter plumage, 
which is worn for one year. This much resembles the adult plumage. 
The head and neck are heavily mottled with dusky in the fall, 
but become pure white by wear and molt during the winter and 
spring. The back is wholly " gull gray," and the wings are largely 
so, but there is some dusky mottling on the bend of the wing. The 
tail is largely white, but there is a subterminal black band, varying 
in extent in different individuals. The primaries are brownish black, 
not deep black as in adults, with a large white spot near the tip of the 
outer and sometimes a smaller one on the second. 

At the second postnuptial molt, which is complete, the adult 
winter plumage is usually assumed at the age of about 2 years. 
This is the same as the adult nuptial plumage, except that the head is 
streaked, the throat is spotted, and the neck is clouded with dusky, 
all of which disappears at the partial prenuptial molt. The white 
spaces and gray wedges in the primaries are not always fully de- 
veloped in third-year birds, but become more pronounced at suc- 
ceeding molts. Other traces of immaturity are often retained dur- 
ing the third winter. 

Food, — Mr. Turner (1886) gives the following account of the 
feeding habits of the short-billed gull : 

At Atkha Island, in the early part of August, 1879, a small species of fish 
(Mallotus villosus) was thrown up by the waves onto the beach. These fish 
cast their spawn in the sand and is covered by the next wave. The gulls of 
this species follow the wake of these fishes, and during the spawning season 
devour many thousands of them. At Amchitka Island I observed this species 
frequenting the beach at low tide and securing the sea urchins, which occur 
plentifully. The birds seize the prey, carry it several yards into the air and 
then drop it on the rocks, or, as it frequently happens, into the little pools left 
by the receding tide. These pools are of variable depth, but when of not more 
than a few inches deep, the bird again took the object to drop it, perhaps into 
the same place; evidently not with the intention of washing any objectionable 
matter from its surface, but simply from the fact that the bird had not yet 
learned to calculate the law of falling bodies, yet when the shellfish was 
dropped on the rocks and broken open the bird greedily devoured the well- 
filled ovaries. These gulls and the ravens frequently carry the shells far to the 
inland and there break them open with their beaks. The old shells may be 
frequently found on a knoll of ground or tuft of grass. 

Doctor Nelson (1887) says that " along the coast of Bering Sea they 
feed upon sticklebacks and other small fry which abound in the 
sluggish streams and lakes." Mr. E. A. Preble (1908) found that 
" three specimens collected May 12 had been feeding on water beetles 
(Dytiscus dauricus)" Mr. Hersey frequently saw them feeding on 



144 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

the garbage dumps near St. Michael. During the fall and winter 
they forage regularly with the larger gulls about the harbors and 
shores where garbage and other offal is to be found. 

Behavior. — In its flight and swimming habits the short-billed gull 
does not differ materially from the larger sjDecies. Mr. Hersey 
observed that the adults show considerable curiosity, following the 
intruder about over the tundra, and that the young are even tamer, 
circling about within 15 or 20 feet for several minutes at a time, 
turning the head from side to side and watching intently, but 
making no sound. 

Doctor Grinnell (1900) remarks: 

Their usual notes are louder and sharper than those of the glaucous gulls 
and remind one of the bark of a terrier. 

Doctor Nelson (1887) says: 

They show considerable curiosity upon the appearance of an intruder, and 
very frequently follow one for some distance, uttering a sharp, querulous 
"kwew," kwew." When one or more are shot the others circle about a few 
times, but show very little solicitude over the fate of their companions. From 
the 18th to 25th of July most of the young are able to fly, and early in August 
old and young gather along the courses of streams or near the larger lakes. 
From this time on many of the birds are found also about low spits and mud 
flats along the coast. The young frequently follow boats for long distances on 
a stream or near shore, and they are so unsuspicious that they may almost 
be knocked down with a paddle. The old birds pass through the fall moult 
the latter half of August, and by the middle of September they are in the new 
dress and gradually disappear from the north, until by the end of this month 
they become rare. In September they fraternize more commonly with the 
kittiwake than at any other season in the bays and along the coast. 

Mr. Hersey's notes, however, state : 

When the young are well grown and able to fly they join the flocks of 
glaucous gulls feeding about the bays and tide creeks. They appear to prefer 
the society of this species to that of their own kind, as I have repeatedly 
observed. Flocks of adult short-billed gulls have been met with continually 
without seeing any young, but practically every flock of glaucous will contain 
at least two young short bills. Generally two are found together, probably a 
family. 

Winter. — The fall migration carries the short-billed gulls down 
the Pacific coast to their winter range from Puget Sound to southern 
California, where they are fairly common all winter, associated with 
Pacific kittiwakes, glaucous-winged, western, herring, and Bona- 
parte's gulls — a mixed party of seacoast scavengers. Mr. W. L. Daw- 
son (1909) gives the following account of this species on the coast of 
Washington in winter : 

A certain childish innocence and simplicity appear to distinguish these birds 
from the more sophisticated herrings and glaucous-wings. They are the small 
fry of the great gull companies which throng our borders in winter, allowed to 



LIFE HISTOEIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 145 

share, indeed, when Petro dumps a rich load of restaurant waste, but expected 
to take a grumbling back seat when the supply of food is more limited. * One 
may see at a glance that they are not fitted for competition. Their bills are 
not only shorter, but much more delicately proportioned than those of the other 
gulls; while their gabbling, duck-like notes oppose a mild alto to the screams 
and high trumpetings of their larger congeners. 

Gulls of this and allied species are quick to appreciate the advantages of 
protected areas. Along the water front or near steamers, where shooting would 
not be allowed, they become very bold. ^ Short-bills, however, do not stand 
about on palings, piles, and roofs, as do the glaucous-wings, but rest, instead, 
almost exclusively on the water. Thus, if one attempts to bait the gulls with 
an offering of bread laid on the wharf rail, the larger gulls will begin to line 
the neighboring rails and posts, craning their necks hungrily or snatching ex- 
posed fragments; but the short-bills will settle upon the water and draw near 
to the piling below, content to catch such crumbs as fall from the high-set 
table. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Northwestern North America. East to Mackenzie 
Valley. South to northern Saskatchewan and Alberta (Athabasca 
Lake), northern British Columbia (Atlin Lake) and southern 
Alaska (Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound). West to the Ber- 
ing Sea coast of Alaska (Nushagak and Norton Sound) and St. Law- 
rence Island. North to northern Alaska (Kowak River and Cape 
Lisburne), Herschel and Baillie Islands, and northern Mackenzie 
(Fort Anderson). 

'Winter range. — Pacific coast of the United States from the south- 
ern end of Vancouver Island and the Puget Sound region southward 
to southern California (San Diego). 

Spring migration. — Northward along the coast and eastward to the 
interior. Early dates of arrival: British Columbia, Queen Char- 
lotte Sound, April 6; Alaska, Admiralty Island, April 24, Mount 
McKinley, May 10, St. Michael, May 11, and Kowak River, May 15; 
Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, May 8, and Great Bear Lake, May 23. 

Fall migration. — The reverse of the spring. Early dates of arrival : 
British Columbia, Chillawack, August 26; Oregon, Scio, September 
21 ; California, Berkeley, October 9, Monterey, October 29, Ventura, 
November 26 and San Diego, December 11. Late dates of departure : 
Alaska, Icy Cape, July 30, Cape Nome, August 28, Camden Bay, 
September 8, St. Michael, September 23, Unalaska, October 1, and 
Sitka region, October 7; Mackenzie, Lake Hardisty, August 25. 

Casual records. — Has been taken in Quebec City (Dionne), in Wy- 
oming (Wind River Mountains, August 28, 1893), and in Kurile 
Islands (February). 

Egg dates. — Athabasca, Mackenzie region : Nineteen records, May 
28 to July 5 ; ten records, June 15 to 21. Alaska : Thirteen records, 
May 30 to July 5 ; seven records, June 16 to 20. 



146 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

LARUS CANUS Linnaeus. 
MEW GULL. 

HABITS. 

Contributed by Charles Wendell Townsend. 

This gull, also called sea-mew or common gull, is a native of north- 
ern Europe and Asia, and is given a doubtful place in the Check 
List of the American Ornithologists' Union by the statement that 
it is "accidental in Labrador (?)". In Birds of Labrador, by 
Townsend and Allen (1907), the whole matter was carefully investi- 
gated, and as no new light has been thrown, it seems worth while 
to quote the results here : 

The following is from Audubon's Labrador " Journal," under date of June 
18, 1833. " John & Co. found an island (near Little Mecattina) with upwards 
of 200 nests of the Larus canus, all with eggs, but not a young hatched. The 
nests were placed on the bare rock; formed of seaweed, about 6 inches in 
diameter within and a foot without; some were much thicker and larger than 
others ; in many instances only a foot apart, in others a greater distance was 
found. The eggs are much smaller than those of Larus marinus." Elliott 
Coues adds the following note after Larus canus: " Common gull. — This record 
raises an interesting question, which can hardly be settled satisfactorily. 
Larus canus, the common gull of Europe, is given by various authors in 
Audubon's time, besides himself, as a bird of the Atlantic Coast of North 
America, from Labrador southward. But it is not known as such to ornith- 
ologists of the present day." In his Notes on the Ornithology of Labrador 
(in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1861, p. 246) Dr. Coues gives L. delawarensis, 
the ring-billed gull, three speciments of which he procured at Henley Harbor, 
August 21, 1860. These were birds of the year, and one of them, afterwards 
sent to England, was identified by Mr. Howard Saunders as L. canus (P. Z. 
S., 1877, p. 178; Cat. B. Brit. Mus., XXV, 1896, p. 281). This would seem to 
bear out Audubon's Journal ; but the " common American gull " of his published 
works is the one he calls L. zonorliynchus (i. e., L. delawarensis) ; and on 
page 155 of the Birds of Am., 8vo ed., he gives the very incident here nar- 
rated in his journal as pertaining to the latter species. The probabilities are 
that, notwithstanding Dr. Coues's finding of the supposed L. canus in Labra- 
dor, the whole Audubonian record really belongs to L. delawarensis. 

The mew gull, although common during the migrations on the 
English coasts, does not breed south of the Scottish border, according 
to Saunders (1889), who says that its trivial name, "common gull," 
has led to many errors. In Scotland, the Hebrides, Orkneys, and 
Shetland it breeds in abundance, and a few breeding haunts are to 
be found in Ireland. It also breeds in Norway and Sweden and 
northern Russia and Siberia. In winter, according to Saunders 
(1889), "it occurs on the shores, lakes, and rivers of the rest of 
Europe down to the Mediterranean ; also on the African side of the 
latter as far as the Suez Canal." 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 147 

Nesting. — This gull breeds in colonies on the shores of lakes or of 
the sea not far above the water. It is especially fond of grassy 
islands, and often makes its nest among the wrack thrown up on the 
shore. It has been found in Norway breeding on the shores of lakes 
4,000 feet above the sea. Instances are on record where it has occu- 
pied the deserted nest of a crow in bushes or trees. The nest is gen- 
erally rather large, and is made up of seaweed, grass, weed stalks, 
bits of heather, etc, 

Eggs — Three eggs constitute a set. They are olive brown to 
straw color in color, or even pale blue or light green, spotted and 
streaked with brown and black. The average measurements are 
2.25 by 1.50 inches. 

Young. — The downy young are of a yellowish gray color, lighter 
on the face, throat, and abdomen. The upper parts and throat are 
marked with large blackish spots. One of these spots always touches 
the base of the upper mandible. 

Behavior. — Saunders (1889) says: 

As a rule this gull does not go far from land, and owing to its being one of 
the first to seek the shore on the approach of coarse weather, it has been made 
the subject of many rhymes and poetical allusions. It feeds on small fish, 
mollusks, crustaceans, etc., and may frequently be seen picking up grubs on 
the furrows in company with rooks, while it will sometimes eat grain. 

Macgillivray (1852) says: 

The fields having been cleared of their produce and partially plowed, 
to prepare them for another crop, the " sea mews," deserting the coasts, ap- 
pear in large flocks, which find subsistence in picking up the worms and 
larvae that have been exposed. These flocks may be met with here and there 
at long intervals in all the agricultural districts, not only in the neighborhood 
of the sea, but in the parts most remote from it. Although they are most 
numerous in stormy weather, it is not the tempest alone that induces them to 
advance inland; for in the finest days of winter and spring they attend upon 
the plow, or search the grass fields as assiduously as at any other time. 

This gull also picks up floating offal from the surface of the water, 
and catches small fish, such as sand eels and young herring. From 
the beaches and rocks on the shore it picks up Crustacea, mollusks, 
echinoderms, etc. In general habits it closely resembles the ring- 
billed gull. Its flight is light and buoyant and it dips down to the 
water gracefully, rarely if ever plunging below the surface. Its 
cry is shrill and somewhat harsh. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Northern Europe and Asia. East to northeastern 
Siberia (Gichiga and Marcova, Anadyr District) and Kamchatka. 
South to latitude 53° K West to the British Isles. North to the 
Arctic coast of Europe and Asia. 



148 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Winter range. — From the British Isles south to the Canary 
Islands, the Mediterranean Sea, northern Africa, the Nile Valley, 
and the Persian Gulf, and on the Asiatic side to Japan and China. 

Casual records. — Has been taken once in North America (Henley 
Harbor, Labrador), a young bird of doubtful identity. Records 
from California refer to other species. 

Egg dates. — Great Britain: Twenty-two records, May 6 to July 
18 ; eleven records, May 16 to June 1. 

LAEUS HEERMANNI Cassin. 
HEERMANN'S GULL. 

HABITS. 

Among the mixed flocks of large gulls which frequent the beaches 
of southern California we frequently see a few and sometimes many 
smaller gulls conspicious by their dark color and long legs. Some 
seem to be wholly black or dark brown; these are the young birds, 
which are present more or less all the year round. Others, with con- 
spicuous white heads, are the adults ; these are absent during the later 
part of the spring and early summer, while on their breeding grounds 
farther south. The species is very well marked and entirely unlike 
any other species of Larus. It has even been placed by some writers 
in another genus, Blasipus, together with two or three other species 
found in other parts of the Pacific Ocean, which its general ap- 
pearance seems to warrant. It is different from other gulls also in 
its migrations, being the only one of our gulls which migrates south- 
ward to breed and northward again to spend the fall and winter. 

Courtship. — Mr. Wilmot W. Brown jr., has given us the only 
account we have of the courtship of this species. He was fortunate 
enough to arrive on the Island of Ildefonso, in the Gulf of Cali- 
fornia, early enough to see it. I quote from his notes, published by 
Col. John E. Thayer (1911), as follows: 

When I first arrived (March 2,4) there were an immense number of birds. 
The males were constantly seen fluttering over the females on the ground, 
near their nests; but no eggs were laid until April 2. It seems they spend 
some time in courtship before settling clown to their matrimonial duties. The 
female when in passion emits a peculiar squeaky sound as she coaxes the 
male by squatting down and going through the most ludicrous motions. I 
have also seen a pair holding on to each other's bills, a kind of tug-of-war 
affair; then they would back away and go through a suggestion of a dance, 
but all the time talking to each other in low love tones. The appearance of 
a duck-hawk would send them all flying to sea. They would return,. however, 
very quickly. 

On the southeastern end of the island, facing the sea, there is a large semicircu- 
lar shaped depression, which covers about 5 acres. It is quite level on the bot- 
tom and covered with gravel, with here and there blocks of lava scattered about. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 29 




Ildefonso Island, Lower California. 



W. W. Brown. 




Ildefonso Island, Lower California. 



Heermann's Gull. 

For description see page 332. 



W. W. Brown. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 149 

It is well protected from the northwest wind, which prevails here in March 
and April. At the time I arrived on the island immense numbers of these 
gulls had congregated. They literally covered the ground. They were so occu- 
pied in their love making that they paid very little attention to us. Their 
cries deadened the cries of all the other birds, and they kept it up all through 
the night. 

Nesting. — The nest in all cases was simply a well-formed depression in the 
ground with no lining whatsoever. There must have been over 15,000 Heermann 
gulls nesting on this island. 

Mr. Pingree I. Osburn (1909) found a colony of Heermann's gulls 
breeding " on a remote rock off the coast of the State of Jalisco, 
Mexico, in about the parallel 18° N." He writes : 

The rock was about 25 feet high and 50 by 150 feet across, with a plat of 
coarse bunch grass a foot high in the center, and along the edge a barren strip 
of white rock, broken up here and there with- crevices and bowlders. The 
rock contained 31 pairs of breeding birds, ascertained after a careful count. 
The birds in the nesting grounds behaved in much the same manner as the 
western gulls, but were tamer, swooping down within a foot of my head and 
alighting nearby while I was photographing in the colony. 

A cursory survey of the rock showed that it was steep on all sides. The birds 
undoubtedly preferred the level ground for a nesting place, as only one set was 
found on this cliff. The nests were located usually between bowlders or nestled 
down in the bunch grass in the center of the rock. Those in the grass were 
usually well made of sticks, dry grass, and weeds, and sometimes with a slight 
lining of feathers. They were much better made and more compact than those 
of the western gull. Several nests in my collection still show their original 
shape and construction; also retain the strong odor peculiar to these birds 
on their nesting grounds. A few sets were found with almost no nest ; simply 
a cup-shaped cavity scantily lined with shells and a stick or two. The nests 
were well scattered about over the rock, no close grouping being evident. The 
measurements of the nests average, in inches — outside width, 10; depth, 2h 
No other species of gull was seen in company with the Heermann gulls, and 
none within hundreds of miles of these islands. 

The first visit to the rock was on April 11. At this time about one-third of 
the eggs were heavily incubated. The remainder were in all the lesser stages. 
The sets contain two and three eggs in about equal numbers, with a possible 
majority of three. 

Eggs. — The eggs show the greatest variation in color. The general ground 
color is pearl gray with a very slight creamy tinge. In some the ground color 
is ashy gray and in others light bluish gray. All the eggs are spotted and 
blotched, the markings showing no particular rule for location at one end or 
the other. They have faint lavender spots, which are covered with smaller 
but more distinct spots of grayish brown, umber, grayish blue, and dark 
lavender. They are very rarely scratched with fine lines, but occasionally the 
spots and splashes show a trend to a lengthwise direction. A few examples 
also have faint wreaths about the large end. Where this occurs the area 
inside the wreath is usually void of heavy markings and decorated only with 
faint irregular lavender spots. In extreme examples the eggs range from one 
egg, which is indistinctly specked with cinnamon brown and marked evenly 
with faint lavender, to an egg which has a ground color twice as deep as the 
egg just mentioned, and heavily splotched with dark olive and dark la vender. 
There is also one set of three which is especially unlike the others, in that the 



150 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

eggs are smaller and more elongated, both ends of the egg being almost identi- 
cal in shape. This set is differently marked also. The spots are dingy and 
not clearly defined as in the remainder of the series. In all, they are the hand- 
somest eggs of any species of this genus which I have ever seen. 

The measurements of 52 eggs, in various collections, average 59.2 by 
42.7 millimeters ; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 64 by 
45 and 53 by 37.5 millimeters. 

Plumages. — The downy young is covered with short, thick down, 
which on the head, throat, breast and flanks is "pinkish buff" or 
" pale pinkish buff," becoming paler toward the belly, which is pure 
white. The back is grayish white, mottled with dusky, and there are 
a few dusky spots on the top of the head. I have seen no specimens 
illustrating the change into the first plumage. 

Coues (1903) says of the young of the year : 

Entire plumage deep sooty or fuliginous-blackish; all the feathers, but 
especially those of back and upper wing coverts, edged with grayish-white. 
Primaries and secondaries black, as in adults, with only traces of white tips 
on the former. Tail black, very narrowly tipped with dull white. 

Birds that I have seen in what I call the juvenal plumage have the 
greater and lesser wing-coverts and the feather edgings "olive 
brown," They apparently change, by a partial and gradual molt, 
from this into the first winter plumage between June and October, 
the wing-coverts becoming grayer, the light edgings of the feathers 
disappearing by wear, and more or less white appearing on the 
throat and chin. During the first spring the wholly black bill of 
the young bird becomes dull reddish on the basal half. This plumage 
is worn until the next summer, the first postnuptial molt, if it may 
be so called, beginning in June. This complete molt produces the 
second winter plumage, which is similar to the first winter, except that 
the primaries and rectrices are blacker and very narrowly edged 
with pale brown ; the upper tail-coverts are more slaty ; the head and 
nape are clear slate-black, the mantle is darker slate-black and the 
bill is practically like the adult. 

A year later the young bird assumes a third winter plumage, simi- 
lar to that of the winter adult, except that the dark mottling on the 
head is more extensive, including the whole head and throat, and all 
the colors are darker. The white predominates on the throat, but 
the rest of the head is very dark. The wings and tail of the adult 
plumage are assumed, but there is great individual variation in the 
extent of the white tips of the primaries and the rectrices, though 
the latter are always broadly tipped with white. At the next pre- 
nuptial molt, which is only partial, including mainly the head and 
neck, young birds become indistinguishable from adults; they are 
then nearly 3 years old. 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 151 

The postnuptial molt of adults, which is complete, occurs mainly 
in July and August, though it is often prolonged into September. 
Adults in the fall may be distinguished from young birds by being 
somewhat lighter in color both above and below, with the gray of 
the body plumage shading off gradually into the white of the head 
and neck; in young birds this change is much more abrupt. The 
head and neck are much whiter in old birds, with much less dusky 
mottling, confined principally to the top and sides of the head. The 
partial prenuptial molt begins in December, and by January or 
February the pure white head of the nuptial plumage has been 
acquired. The white tips of the primaries wear away partially or 
wholly before spring, and the white tips of the rectrices also dis- 
appear before the postnuptial molt. 

Food, — Although the food of Heermann's gull consists largely of 
fish and other sea food, which it obtains offshore, it also indulges 
freely in a great variety of other foods and does its part as a scaven- 
ger along the shores and on the beaches with the other gulls, where 
it does not seem to be at all fastidious as to its diet. Dr. George 
Suckley (1860), however, says: 

This species, unlike the ring-billed and many other gulls, does not seem to 
be fond of feeding on the shores and bare flats, but is almost always (in that 
vicinity at least) found on the kelp beds floating in the deep water some 
distance from shore. Whether they are attracted to these kelp beds by the 
hopes of finding small shellfish in the upturned and netlike roots of such plants 
as, detached from their fastenings on the bottom, have become entangled 
together and with others in situ, or because these floating islands afford a con- 
venient resting place where they can rest to a great extent secure from their 
enemies of the land, I can not say ; but presume that the presence of a supply 
of food must be a great inducement. 

Mr. A. W. Anthony (1906) describes their method of catching 
fish as follows: 

When herring are swimming in compact schools near the surface both Heer- 
mann's and western gulls secure them by approaching the school from behind 
and flying near the surface of the water, making repeated, quick dips into the 
school. The fish seek safety in the depths the instant anything occurs to alarm 
them, but soon return to the surface, so that the gulls by stalking them from 
the rear are enabled to approach quite near before the fish are alarmed. As 
soon as the limits of the school have been passed the gull, rising higher in the 
air, returns by a wide circuit and again passes over the school from the rear. 
As the fish all swim in one direction, in a compact mass, these tactics afford the 
gulls a decided advantage, which seems to be thoroughly understood. I think 
that the Heermann's gull secures about one out of five fish that are snapped at 
and the western half as many. Royal tern and the other gulls employ these 
same methods but to a less extent. 

They have also been found to feed on shrimps and other crustaceans 
and mollusca. 

174785—21 11 



152 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Behavior. — I have never noticed anything peculiar or distinctive in 
the flight of this species, which is very much like that of the larger 
gulls; nor can I find anything of interest in regard to it in print. 
The species is, of course, easily recognized in life by its very distinc- 
tive colors in all plumages. 

Mr. Anthony (1906) refers to its voice as a "whining catlike cry" 
while attacking the pelicans to rob them of their food. Mr. Osburn 
(1909) says: 

Their cry was an oft-repeated "cow-auk," " cow-eek," given when high in 
the air, and a rapid guttural " caw-ca-ca-ca " when hovering near the nest. 

Mr. W. L. Dawson (1909) writes that, if disturbed in their sum- 
mer loafing places, " they suddenly take to wing and fill the air with 
low-pitched mellow cries of strange quality and sweetness, as they 
make off to some distant rendezvous." 

Though not so much of an egg thief as some other gulls, it is some- 
what of a pilferer of food and quite bold in attacking species larger 
than itself which are too stupid to resist its persecution. Mr. 
Anthony (1906) has given us the following interesting account of 
its method of robbing the pelicans : 

Heermann's gull is by far the most active and successful in catching small 
fish from the surface ; but as a rule will seldom attempt to catch his own din- 
ner if there are any pelicans among the delegates to the convention. There 
are times when the herring are so thick and so driven from below by the 
large fish that the pelicans will sit on the surface and snap them up without 
plunging, as is their normal method, from a height of from 10 to 30 feet in the 
air. If the fish are swimming the deep plunge often carries the bird com- 
pletely under the surface, and when a second later he bobs up like a cork he 
is sure of finding at least one, often two Heermann's gulls expectantly await- 
ing the result. If there are two they will usually take up stations on each 
side and but a foot in front of the pelican, which still holds its huge bill and 
pouch under the water. It may be that the pelican does not yet know the 
result of his efforts, for in plunging the pouch is used as a dip net and, if 
nothing else, it is full of water, which is allowed to escape past the loosely 
closed mandibles until, perhaps 5 or 10 seconds after the bird made his plunge, 
a flutter is seen in the pouch, announcing one or more struggling victims. It 
is still an open question, however, whether they will be eaten by the gull or 
the pelican, and the latter is seemingly well aware that a herring in the gullet 
is worth two in the pouch, for it will often wait several seconds for a favor- 
able opportunity for disposing of the catch; the gulls meantime constantly 
uttering their nasal whining note and keeping well within reaching distance 
of the pouch. When the critical moment arrives the pelican throws the bill up 
and attempts to swallow the fish, but, with cat-like quickness, one or both gulls 
make a similar effort, and should the fish in its struggles have thrust its tail 
or head past the edges of the mandibles, as very often happens, it is an even 
chance that the gull gets the prize ; in fact, I have often seen a Heermann gull 
reach well into the pouch and get away with a fish in the very act of slipping 
down the throat of the pelican. 

I remember a very amusing incident of this nature I once witnessed on the 
coast of Lower California. The pelican, after securing a herring, " backed 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 153 

water " until it was supposed to be far enough from its parasite to venture 
swallowing it, but as the huge bill was tipped up and opened the gull plunged 
forward and thrust its entire head and neck into the pouch ; the pelican, some- 
what quicker than most of its kind, closed down with a snap and caught the 
intruder, which in turn had caught the fish; neither would yield any advan- 
tages gained, and for perhaps half a minute the pelican towed the gull about by 
the head, amid most violent protest from a hundred or more gulls assembled, 
while other pelicans sat like solemn judges, perhaps offering to arbitrate the 
question. At last a more violent twist than usual on the part of the gull freed 
him from limbo, minus a few feathers, but in no manner daunted, for a moment 
later it was following closely in the wake of the same pelican, waiting for it to 
plunge for another fish, and I never did learn which really swallowed the one in 
controversy. 

Dr. E. W. Nelson (1899) observed that " these gulls are bold and 
noisy aggressors when they wish to take advantage of the gannets, 
and about the breeding places of the latter they feed largely at the 
public expense." One that he shot on Isabel Island, off the west 
coast of Mexico, had in company with its mate "harried a blue- 
footed gannet into disgorging a number of small fish upon a rock 
at the edge of the water, and was picking up the spoils by a series of 
little downward swoops and hoverings." Mr. Harold H. Bailey 
(1906) in the same region, noted similar behavior toward the boobies. 
He also mentions the following incident : 

One day while sitting on a rock in front of camp at White Rock waiting for 
lunch, I saw one of a pair of great rufous-bellied kingfishers fishing from a 
rock about 20 feet farther on. As it returned to its perch from one of its little 
plunges a Heermann's gull swooped down and tried to get its food before it 
could be swallowed. The kingfisher dove to the water and at each descent of 
the gull, dove below, these tactics being kept up until the gull got disgusted and 
left. 

Winter. — At the close of the breeding season the Heermann's gulls 
migrate northward along the coast of California and as far north as 
British Columbia. They have been seen flying north along the coast 
of Washington as early as July. Adults become abundant on the 
California coast in July and young birds in August. They are com- 
mon all winter on the coast of southern California, both adults and 
young, until the adults migrate south again in the spring to breed. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Pacific coast of Mexico. Known to breed in the 
Gulf of California (Isla Eaza and Ildefonso Island), Lower Cali- 
fornia (Magdalena Bay), on the Tres Marias Islands, and at 
Mazatlan. 

Winter range. — Northward in summer along the Pacific coast to 
northern Washington (Puget Sound), and occasionally to northern 
Vancouver Island. Southward along the Central American coast to 
Guatemala (Chiapam and San Jose). 



154 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Spring migration.— Adults return to their breeding grounds from 
both northern and southern winter ranges in March. 

Fall migration.— Northward movement begins in May, reaching 
southern California about June 1; Monterey, June and July; Faral- 
lones, May 20 to June 3 ; British Columbia, Vancouver Island, June 
28. Southward retirement again begins in August, or even July, 
but last birds do not leave Puget Sound until October, and few 
remain in Washington until November. Bulk of the flight passes 
Monterey in November, but a few birds winter there. 

Egg dates.— Mexico, west coast : Fifteen records, April 8 to June 
17; fourteen records, April 8 to 11. 

LARUS ATRICILLA Linnaeus. 
LAUGHING GULL. 

HABITS. 

High above the gleaming sands of Muskeget Island, amid the 
whirling maze of hovering terns that swarm up into the blue ether 
until the uppermost are nearly lost to vision, may be seen some 
larger birds, conspicuous by their size, by their black heads and 
black-tipped wings, soaring at ease among their lesser companions. 
In the ceaseless din of strident cries may be heard occasionally the 
hoarse notes of this larger bird— notes which, from their peculiar 
character, give the bird the fitting name of laughing gull. Although 
larger and stronger than the terns the laughing gulls are much 
shyer and less aggressive on their breeding grounds; the observer 
must remain concealed for some time under a well-made blind before 
they will return to their nests in his vicinity. 

The Muskeget Island colony is certainly the largest breeding 
colony of laughing gulls north of Virginia ; it is therefore worthy 
of description, as typical of the numerous colonies which formerly 
existed all along the coast from Maine southward. Much has been 
written about this interesting island, and I have given a brief 
description of it under the head of the common tern. These gulls 
formerly bred here abundantly, but constant persecution reduced 
their numbers until they became very scarce about 1880, and would 
have been extirpated except for the protection afforded them by the 
passage of suitable laws and by the personal efforts of Mr. George 
H. Mackay in seeing that the laws were enforced. They increased 
slowly during the next 10 years, but after 1890 their increase was 
more encouraging. In 1894 the colony nearly doubled in numbers 
and it continued to flourish, increasing a little each year, until, at the 
time of my last visit (in 1919) it consisted of several thousand pairs. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 30 




Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 




Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 



Laughing Gull. 

For description see page 332. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 155 

Nesting.— The laughing gulls usually arrive at Muskeget during 
the second week in May, the date of arrival varying from May 7 to 
17, according to the weather conditions. A period of warm weather 
with strong southerly winds in the first part of May is likely to 
bring them early, flying high in the air with the terns. Mating and 
nest building soon begin and the first eggs are laid during the first or 
second week in June. They build their nests in a compact colony, 
among the sand dunes, near the center of the island, where the beach 
grass grows long and thick on the sandy slopes and in the hollows 
between the dunes. Usually the nests are, at least partially, concealed 
in the beach grass, which grows 2 feet high or more, but often they 
are in plain sight. When the nest is placed in the thick grass, a well- 
trodden path over- arched with grass leads up to it on one side and 
away from it on the other, so that the bird may enter and leave the 
nest without turning around at the risk of ruffling its immaculate 
plumage. The nests are frequently placed among the beach peas, 
which grow in great profusion in the hollows among the sand dunes, 
or, again, they are found under bayberry bushes that are scattered 
all over the island — sometimes in the center of a clump. The nest is 
sometimes merely a hollow in the sand among the beach grass, lined 
with dry grasses, bits of sticks and rubbish ; but usually it is a well- 
made structure of various coarse, dry grasses, firmly interwoven and 
built up a few inches above the sand among clumps of beach grass, 
beach peas, or poison-ivy vines. The interior of the nest is carefully 
rounded and neatly lined with fine dry beach grass. By the middle 
of June most of the nests contain full sets of eggs, though egg laying 
is continued more or less all through the month. Very few chicks 
are hatched before July, but during the first week in that month the 
majority of the young birds appear and may be found hiding in the 
beach grass or running about so nimbly that it is difficult to catch 
them. 

Similar colonies formerly existed along the Long Island coast, 
where in Giraud's day the laughing gull was a common summer resi- 
dent. It occurs there now chiefly as a migrant, and I doubt if there 
are any breeding colonies left. According to Mr. William Dutcher's 
notes it bred at South Oyster Bay up to 1884, at Amityville until 
1887, and at Cedar Island as late as 1888. 

Dr. Witmer Stone (1908) says of its status in 1908 in New 
Jersey : 

Formerly an abundant summer resident on the salt meadows along the coast, 
it is now restricted to two colonies— one at Brigantins and the other on Gull 
Island, Hereford Inlet— both under the protection of the National Association 
of Audubon Societies. The birds arrive April 4 to 20, and have mostly de- 
parted by October 1. The first sets of eggs are laid in May. 



156 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

On Cobb's Island, Virginia, and on the surrounding islands we 
found the laughing gulls still abundant in 1907, though considerably 
reduced in numbers by many years of persecution. Their eggs were 
persistently collected daily by the oystermen all through the breed- 
ing season up to July 4, after which date they were protected by 
law and the birds were allowed to raise their broods. Such treat- 
ment must prove discouraging to the less vigorous birds and prob- 
ably will eventually drive many of them away, but the oystermen 
claim the right to collect the eggs as a legitimate food supply, and 
it would be difficult to enforce any more stringent laws for their 
protection. The establishment of reservations under the constant 
guardianship of resident wardens is the only practical solution of 
the difficulty. Their favorite breeding grounds in this region are 
on the salt meadows, which are partially covered with shallow 
water at the highest tides. There are numerous small islands in 
this vicinity known as " marshes," which form their principal breed- 
ing grounds. These are flat and muddy, only a foot or two above 
the ordinary high tides and covered with short salt meadow grass. 
The nests are well made, bulky structures of dead grasses and sedges, 
firmly interwoven and neatly lined with finer grasses. They are 
built up high enough to be above the reach of the spring tides. 

The largest and most prosperous colonies of laughing gulls that I 
have ever seen were in the reservations off the coast of Louisiana, 
where, under rigid protection, the seabird colonies are still flourish- 
ing. Between June 16 and 24, 1910, 1 made the circuit of the islands 
with Warden W. M. Sprinkle, on his weekly patrol, visiting all of 
the more important colonies. The largest colony was on Battle- 
dore Island, where a resident warden was protecting the birds most 
successfully. I spent the whole of a long day on this little island 
and estimated that there were fully 5,000 pairs of laughing gulls 
breeding here, as well as 1,000 pair of black skimmers, 50 pairs of 
Lousiana herons, 30 pairs of Forster's terns, 25 pairs of common 
terns, one pair each of Caspian and royal terns, and a few pairs of 
Florida redwings, all of which seemed to be living together in perfect 
harmony. The island was formerly much larger, but had been re- 
duced in size by the washing away of its shelly and sandy beaches, 
leaving broad stretches of sand and mud flats around it, bare at 
low tide. We had to walk at least half a mile over these flats to reach 
the dry portion of the island, which was not over 4 acres in extent. 
In the center was a flat and almost dry marsh, largely overgrown 
with small black mangrove bushes, in which the Louisiana herons 
were nesting. Surrounding this, and partly inclosing a shallow 
muddy bay, were high ridges of finely broken oyster shells sloping 
down to the sandy beaches. The laughing gulls' nests were thickly 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NORTH AMERICAN" GULLS AND TERNS. 157 

scattered over nearly all of the island, principally among the clumps 
of grass and coarse weeds or under small bushes, on and behind 
the shell ridges, but also on the marsh and on the muddy flats and 
sandy beaches, which were partially covered with grass and weeds. 
The nests on the dry ground or among thick vegetation were not 
so elaborately built as those on the open marsh. At this date 
(June 21) most of the eggs were heavily incubated, pipped, or 
hatched. According to Captain Sprinkle's records the majority of 
the eggs are laid during the last week in May and hatched about 
three weeks later. The gulls on this island were particularly 
tame, being accustomed to the daily visits of the warden. They 
alighted on their nests readily within 10 feet of my blind, and even 
in the open, if I sat down quietly, they would soon settle on the 
ground within easy reach of my camera. 

On the outermost island in this reservation, Grand Cochere, a low 
flat sand bar, we found a few pairs of laughing gulls with nests scat- 
tered over the island somewhat apart from the large breeding col- 
onies of royal and Cabot's terns, with which the island was chiefly 
populated. The nests were poorly made of the scant supply of 
grasses, seaweed, and rubbish available. As there was absolutely no 
vegetation on this bare sand bar, the nesting material must have 
been brought from a distance. In marked contrast to our experience 
elsewhere we found many broken eggs of the terns which had ap- 
parently been eaten by the gulls; we therefore thought it wise to 
discourage their nesting here and broke up all the nests we could 
find, about 10, and shot several of the birds. 

Among the numerous small islands in the western part of the res- 
ervation, near the delta of the Mississippi River, we found a large 
number of breeding colonies of laughing gulls varying in size from 
50 or 100 pairs up to 1,000 or 2,000 pairs. Some of the larger islands 
were of the same type as Battledore Island, but more of them were 
of the marshy type, locally known as " mud lumps," overgrown with 
rank grasses, low mangrove bushes, and other vegetation. Wherever 
there were shell or sand beaches black skimmers were nesting. There 
were numerous breeding colonies of Louisiana and black-crowned 
night herons in the red mangrove thickets ; a few colonies of Fors- 
ter's terns were breeding on the marshes ; and there were a few scat- 
tering pairs of Caspian terns; but everywhere the laughing gulls 
predominated and apparently lived peacefully with their neighbors. 

Eggs. — Three eggs usually constitute the full set, though four eggs 
are frequently -laid, and sometimes only two. Mr. George H. 
Mackay (1893) speaks of finding a number of nests with five eggs 
each, and suggests the possibility that these may have been laid by 
more than one bird. The eggs vary in shape from ovate, or slightly 
elongated ovate, to short ovate, the prevailing shape being typical 



158 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

ovate. The ground color varies from " Isabella color " or " wood 
brown " in the darkest specimens to " olive buff " or " cream buff " 
in the lightest specimens, both of which extremes are unusual. The 
prevailing types show various intermediate shades of " olive buff " 
or " olive brown," or, more rarely, a pale olive greenish tinge. I 
have one set in which the ground color is very pale " pea green " 
and is almost immaculate. The markings consist of spots and 
blotches, or more rarely irregular scrawls, scattered more or less 
evenly over the egg^ but often more thickly about the large end. 
These vary in color from " seal brown " or " clove brown " to " Mars 
brown " or " raw umber." In many specimens there are underlying 
spots or blotches of " drab gray " or " olive gray." The measure- 
ments of 69 eggs in the United States National Museum collection 
average 53.5 by 38.5 millimeters; the eggs showing the four ex- 
tremes measure 62 by 37, 52 by 42, 48.5 by 37, and 52.5 by 30.5 
millimeters. 

Young. — The period of incubation is about 20 days. The young 
when first hatched are carefully brooded by their parents, who stand 
over them to protect them in wet weather or to shield them from the 
rays of the hot sun. They are fed at first on half-digested soft 
food, which they take from the open bill of the old bird, but later 
on are weaned and taught to feed on solid food. They remain in the 
nest for a few days, but soon learn to run about and hide in the 
grass or under herbage. For the next month or six weeks they lead 
an inactive life during the period of growth- feeding, resting and 
sleeping most of the time. They are fed by their parents until they 
are able to fly and for some little time thereafter. The flight stage 
is reached, on Muskeget, during the last week of July or the first 
week of August, at which time the adults, still in full nuptial 
plumage, may be seen hovering over the little grassy meadows, where 
young birds of various sizes may be found hidden in the long thick 
grass, so well concealed that one must be careful not to walk on 
them. Here they remain motionless until disturbed, often until 
touched, when they run nimbly or fly away. Comparatively few 
young birds may be seen exercising in the open sandy spaces or on 
the beaches, running about on their long legs almost as fast as a man 
can run, or learning to make short flights from the high spots. 

Plumages. — The young are thickly covered with long, soft down. 
The prevailing color above is " wood brown " or " drab," which is 
often more or less extensively tinged with " tawny olive " or " cin- 
namon,' and the under parts show paler shades of the same colors 
tinged with " tawny ochraceous " on the breast or throat. There is 
no white below. The head, neck, and throat are clearly spotted or 
striped with dull black, dusky, or very dark brown ; and the back is 
more or less heavily mottled or clouded with the same dark colors. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 31 




Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 




Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. 



A. O. Gross. 



Laughing Gull. 



For description see page 332. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF FORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 159 

The juvenal plumage is complete before the young bird is fully 
grown. In the fresh juvenal plumage the upper parts are largely 
dusky drab, but the feathers of the back, scapulars, and lesser wing- 
coverts are broadly tipped and margined with " cinnamon buff " or 
" pinkish buff." The head, neck, and chest are heavily clouded with 
dusky, the sides of the head being nearly clear dusky, darkest on the 
lores, and the feathers of the neck and chest are narrowly tipped 
with pale buff. The throat is partially white, and the under parts 
are whitish, clouded with drab on the sides. The greater wing- 
coverts are dusky, broadly edged with gray, and white tipped. The 
remiges are black ; the tertials and secondaries broadly and the inner 
primaries narrowly tipped with white. The tail is basally pearl 
gray, the outer third or more black, and is tipped with white. As 
the season advances buffy edgings on the upper parts wear away and 
fade out to whitish. A gradual post juvenal molt also takes place 
during the fall and winter with the growth of new " gull gray " 
feathers in the back and new white feathers in the head, neck, and 
breast. This molt is practically continuous with the first pre- 
nuptial molt, which produces further advance toward maturity; 
the head becomes largely white, the under parts wholly so, the scapu- 
lars and lesser wing-coverts become " gull gray," and sometimes some, 
or even all, of the tail feathers are replaced by new pure white 
feathers ; but usually the rectrices, the remiges, and the greater wing- 
coverts remain as in the juvenal plumage. 

I can not find any evidence that the slate-colored head of the adult 
nuptial plumage is even partially assumed at this age. 

At the first postnuptial molt, when the bird is a little over a 
year old, the adult winter plumage is assumed by a complete molt, 
but a few individuals may still retain traces of the black sub- 
terminal bar in the tail, or other signs of immaturity. In the adult 
winter plumage the dark hood of the adult nuptial plumage is re- 
placed by a white head, mottled with dusky on the occiput, cervix, 
and auriculars ; the inner primaries are conspicuously white tipped, 
decreasingly so outwards until the outer is entirely black; these 
white tips wear away during the winter. The complete postnuptial 
molt begins in July and is usually completed in September, but 
sometimes not until October ; the outer primaries are the last feathers 
to be renewed. Apparently young birds molt earlier in the summer 
than adults, beginning sometimes as early as May. The partial pre- 
nuptial molt occurs mainly in March, and involves the contour 
feathers and the lesser wing-coverts. Dr. Elliot Coues (1877) gives 
a striking account of the changes which take place at this season : 

Another change heightens the beauty of the birds when they are to be decked 
for their nuptials in full attire. They gain a rich rosy tint over all the white 
plumage of the under part ; then few birds are of more delicate hues than these. 



160 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Nature blushes, filling the bird's breast with amorous imagery, till the feathers 
catch a glow and reflect the blush. Burning with inward fire, the whole frame 
thrills with the enthusiasm of sexual vigor. The dark glittering eye is 
encircled with a fiery ring; now it flashes defiance at a rival, now tenderly 
melts at sight of his mate, soon to be sacrificed to masculine zeal. The breath 
of desire seems to influence the mouth till it shares the carmine hue that tinges 
other parts. The birds speed on high with vigorous pinion, making haste to 
the wedding with joyful cries till the shores resound. But such ardor is too 
consuming to last; with the touch of a moment the life current flies like an 
electric shock, lighting a fire in another organism, only to be subdued in the 
travail of maternity; not only once, but often, till the tide ebbs that at its 
flood transfigured the bird. Its force all spent the change comes; the red 
mouth pales again ; the glowing plumage fades to white ; the bird is but the 
shadow of his former self, dull-colored, ragged, without ambition beyond the 
satisfaction of a gluttonous appetite. He loiters southward, recruiting an 
enervated frame with plenteous fare in this season of idleness, till the warm 
rays of another spring restore him. 

Food. — The food of the laughing gull is quite varied. It consists 
largely of small fish or fry which it catches for itself on the surface 
or steals from the brown pelican. This latter performance is quite 
interesting. Wherever a number of pelicans are diving and feeding 
these gulls are apt to gather in large numbers, and with their warn- 
ing cries of " half, half, half" to share in the feast. As soon as a 
pelican appears above the surface with a pouch full of small fry 
one or another of the gulls attempts and often succeeds in alighting 
on the pelican's head and helping itself to the bountiful supply in the 
capacious pouch. Other gulls hover about and pick up the pieces 
that fall to the water. Audubon (1840) states that they eat the eggs 
and sometimes the small young of the noddies and sooty terns on 
the Dry Tortugas. I have seen some evidence of their egg-eating 
habits, but I think they are not nearly as bad in this respect as the 
larger gulls. Mr. Stanley C. Arthur writes me : 

The laughing gull takes a heavy toll of the eggs of the Cabot and royal terns 
every year ; of this there is no doubt ; and it seems to favor the royal tern in 
this matter of egg breaking. While I have seen a number of Cabot tern eggs 
broken open by laughing gulls, there is no doubt that the royal tern suffers 
the most. 

Mr. John G. Wells (1902) says: 

As these gulls can not dive they have to depend for their food on the shoals 
of sprats and fry that come up to the surface, and they have been known to 
take large bites from the backs of a fish called corvally which swims near 
the surface in large numbers. After heavy falls of rain, when the pastures 
are covered with numerous rain pools, these gulls resort to them in numbers and 
feed on the earthworms which swarm in the pools. This may often be seen, 
especially in the Beausejour pasture. 

Although not such scavengers as the larger gulls, the laughing 
gulls are not above eating quite a variety of garbage, and I have 
known them to follow our boat for long distances, while we were 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



IULLETIN l!3 PL. 32 




Louisiana. 



H. K. Job. 




Louisiana. 



Laughing Gull. 

For description see page 332. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 161 

cruising in the Gulf of Mexico, to pick up the few scraps that were 
thrown overboard. Laughing gulls are frequently pursued by 
jaegers, and in tropical waters by man-o'-war birds, and after much 
darting, twisting, and turning they are finally forced to disgorge 
their food. 

Behavior. — The characteristic notes of the laughing gull have been 
well described by Mr. J. H. Langille (1884), from which I quote as 
follows : 

From the hoarse clatter of the terns one could distinguish its long-drawn, 
clear note, on a high key, sounding not unlike the more excited call note of the 
domestic goose; and every now and then it would give its prolonged, weird 
laughter, which has given rise to its common name. To one who has heard it 
it might be imitated by the syllables, hah-ha-ha-ha-ha-hah-hah-hah, all of which 
are uttered on a high, clear tone, the last three or four syllables, and espe- 
cially the last one, being drawn out with peculiar and prolonged effect; the 
whole sounding like the odd and excited laughter of an Indian squaw, and 
giving marked propriety to the name of the bird. 

The flight of the laughing gull is light and graceful, yet strong and 
well-sustained. When migrating or flying long distances in pleasant 
weather, they usually fly high in the air, but in stormy weather or 
when flying against a strong wind they fly close to the water or low 
over the land. In pleasant weather large numbers of them leave 
their breeding places soon after sunrise, flying in flocks or long lines 
to their feeding grounds, and return before sunset, flying low in 
broadly extended formations. 

The laughing gulls on Muskeget Island seem to live in perfect har- 
mony with their neighbors, the common and roseate terns. I have 
never found any positive evidence of their eating the eggs of these 
terns, although they eat the eggs of other species elsewhere. They 
seem to be shyer or more timid here than at other places, and perhaps 
they have learned that it is not safe to molest the more aggressive 
terns. Mr. Mackay (1893) says: 

I shall not call them courageous birds, as far as I have observed them, for 
I have frequently seen a single Sterna Mr-undo chase or put one to flight, which 
would endeavor to escape without offering any resistance. I have also seen 
four or five laughing gulls concertedly chase and put to flight a single Sterna 
Mrundo, which offered no resistance to such odds. 

These observations tend to show that the terns are the masters 
of the situation and that the gulls simply have to respect their rights. 
After the breeding season is over the old and young birds wander 
about our coasts until they finally disappear on their southward mi- 
gration about October 1. 

Winter. — The fall migration begins in August, and by the end of 
September most of the laughing gulls have disappeared from the 
New England coast. Many linger on the North Carolina coast 



162 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

through November, and from South Carolina southward they are 
abundant all winter, frequenting the bays and tidal estuaries in large 
flocks. They are strictly maritime at all seasons and seldom wander 
inland or up the rivers beyond tidewater. Their winter range ex- 
tends to the west coast of Mexico, Peru, and Brazil, where they 
associate with royal terns, brown pelicans, and man-o'-war birds on 
relations which are often more intimate than friendly. 

Mr. G. K. Noble (1916) has recently called attention to the fact 
that the laughing gulls of the North American coasts are larger than 
those of the West Indies and has given the former a new name, Larus 
atricilla megalopterus (Bruch). 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts (formerly at 
many localities now deserted) from central Maine (Lincoln County) 
to southern Texas (Cameron County). Principal colonies are in 
Massachusetts (Muskeget Island) , Virginia (Northampton County), 
Louisiana (various islands), and Texas (Padre and Bird Islands). 
Birds breeding in the Bahamas and West Indies have been separated 
as a smaller subspecies, to which probably belong the birds breeding 
on the coastal islands of Venezuela and Honduras. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reserva- 
tions : In Florida, Passage Key ; in Louisiana, Breton Island, and 
Shell Keys. 

Winter range. — From the Bahamas, coasts of South Carolina, 
Mississippi, and Louisiana southward, mainly in the Gulf of Mexico 
and the Caribbean Sea. It is impossible to separate the winter ranges 
of the two subspecies, but the species has been taken in winter as far 
south as Brazil (Cajutuba), and on the Pacific coast from central 
Mexico (Mazatlan) to Peru (Santa Lucia) and coast of Chile. 

Spring migration. — Migrants arrive in North Carolina in April 
and May ; Virginia, about April 1 ; New Jersey, April 6 to May 1 ; 
Massachusetts, Muskeget Island, April 12. 

Fall migration. — Late dates of departure: Massachusetts, Nan- 
tucket, October 8 ; New York, Long Island, October 28 ; New Jersey, 
September 20 to October 1 ; South Carolina, Weston, October 20. 

Casual records. — There are numerous inland records of stragglers, 
as far north as Quebec (Montreal, October 24, 1888), and Ontario 
(Toronto, May 23, 1890), and as far west as Iowa (Blencoe, October 
10, 1894), Colorado (near Denver, December, 1889), and New Mexico 
(Fort Wingate) . Accidental in Bermuda (winter of 1881-82) , Lower 
California (San Jose del Cabo, September 6 and November 9, 1887), 
Great Britain (several old records), France (Le Crotay, June 29, 
1877), and Austria (near Trieste, winter). 



LITE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 163 

Egg dates. — Virginia: Forty-eight records, May 25 to July 19; 
twenty- four records, June 9 to 26. Louisiana and Texas: Thirty- 
three records, April 8 to June 21; seventeen records, May 21 to 
June 4. 

LARUS FRANKLINI Richardson. 
FBANKLIN'S GULL. 

HABITS. 

Spring. — In late April or early May, when the rich black soil has thawed to 
the surface, the settler of the northwest prairies goes forth to plow. The warm 
season is short and his tillage vast, so he delays not for wind or storm. One 
day he is dark as a coal heaver, when the strong winds which sweep almost 
ceaselessly over the prairie hurl upon him avalanches of black dust. Next day, 
perchance, in a driving storm of wet snow, he turns black furrows in the in- 
terminable white expanse, his shaggy fur coat buttoned close around him. Then 
comes a day of warm sunshine, when, as he plows, he is followed by a troop of 
handsome birds which some might mistake for white doves. Without sign of 
fear they alight in the furrow close behind him, and, with graceful carriage, 
hurry about to pick up the worms and grubs which the plow has just unearthed. 
Often have I watched the plowman and his snowy retinue, and it appeals to 
me as one of the prettiest sights which the wide prairies can afford. No wonder 
that the lonely settler likes the dainty, familiar bird, and in friendly spirit 
calls it his " prairie pigeon " or " prairie dove." 

The above quotation, from Mr. H. K. Job (1910), furnishes a vivid 
picture of this useful prairie bird and its arrival in the spring, which 
occurs at about the time that the last of the ice goes out of the lakes. 
The beautiful Franklin's gull, or Franklin's rosy gull, as it was first 
called, is both useful and ornamental throughout the whole summer, 
and is justly popular in consequence. Although it was described by 
Swainson and Richardson in Fauna Boreali- Americana, it seems to 
have been almost wholly unknown by the earlier writers on Ameri- 
can birds, and was for many years considered a rare bird. It was not 
until the great western plains began to be settled and cultivated that 
we began to realize the astonishing abundance of this species and its 
importance to the agriculturist. 

Nesting. — A breeding colony of Franklin's gulls is one of the most 
spectacular, most interesting, and most beautiful sights in the realm 
of North American ornithology. The man who has never seen one 
has something yet to live for — a sight which once seen is never to 
be forgotten. No written words can convey any adequate idea of 
the beautiful picture presented by countless thousands of exquisite 
birds, of such delicate hues and gentle habits, in all the activities of 
their closely populated communities. For parts of two seasons we 
had followed their elusive lines of flight over many miles of prairie 
and plain. We had seen them flying out in loose straggling flocks 
in the morning as they scattered over the prairies to feed and seen 



164 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

them flying back again at night to some mysterious point which 
we could never find; whence they came and whither they went we 
never knew, but somewhere in the great beyond we knew that they 
had established a populous city. Like the Indians of the plains, 
they are a wandering, nomadic race, and for some mysterious reason, 
unknown to any but themselves, they move about from place to 
place, choosing each season the locality which suits their fancy. 

At last our efforts were rewarded on June 9, 1905, for after driving 
for miles over the rolling plains of southwestern Saskatchewan and 
exploring many lakes and sloughs in vain we discovered a splendid 
colony of these elusive birds. As we drove over the crest of a bil- 
lowy ridge among roving bands of grazing cattle we saw a broad 
level grassy plain spread out before us, and beyond it in the dis- 
tance a lake fringed with marshes. With the aid of our glasses we 
could barely make out a cloud of white specks hovering over the 
marsh, and we knew at once that we had won the long-sought prize. 
Another mile of rapid driving brought us to the marshy shore, 
where scores, yes hundreds, of the dainty birds began flying out to 
meet us with a chorus of shrill screams and harsh cries of protest. 
We tethered our horse and waded out into the marsh, where the 
reeds or bullrushes (Scirpus lacustris) grew for a distance of 200 
or 300 yards out from the shore and for half or three-quarters of a 
mile along that side of the lake. The water was not over knee-deep 
anywhere, except on the outer edge, and usually much less than 
that; perhaps a foot deep on the average. The reeds were 3 or 4 
feet high and were not very thick except on the outer edge, where 
they grew in thick clusters, dense and tall. Most of the reeds were 
of last year's growth, dead and more or less flattened down, with 
scattering tall, straight, green reeds growing up through them. 

As we waded out toward the colony, clouds of gulls began to 
rise and circle over us, cackling and screaming, but it was not until 
we were 100 yards from the shore that we began to find nests. When 
we were fairly in the midst of the colony the excitement grew 
intense; clouds and clouds of the beautiful birds were rising all 
around us, and the din of their voices was terrific, as they hovered 
over, circled around, and darted down at us in bewildering multi- 
tudes. If we kept still they would gradually settle down all around 
us, but if we gave a shout the result would be startling as the whole 
surrounding marsh would seem to rise in a dense white cloud, and 
the roar of their wings mingled with the grand chorus of cries would 
be almost deafening. But they were very tame and we had plenty 
of opportunities to admire the exquisite beauty of their plumage, 
seldom surpassed in any bird; pearl gray mantles, delicate rosy 
breasts, black heads, and claret-colored bills and feet. We could form 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 33 



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Lake of the Narrows, Saskatchewi 



H. K. Job. 




Lake of the Narrows, Saskatchewan. 

Franklin's Gull. 

For description see page 332. 



A. C. Bent. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 165 

no very definite idea of their numbers, but there were certainly a 
mighty host of them; to say that there were thousands would be 
putting it mildly, for their nests were as thick as they could be over 
a large area. Assuming that there were from 15 to 20 nests in an 
area 10 yards square, or in 100 square yards, which is certainly a 
conservative estimate, I figured that there were at least from 15,000 
to 20,000 nests in the colony, meaning a population of from 30,000 
to 40,000 birds. 

As we stood wondering and admiring them, they grew more con- 
fident and gradually settled down on their nests all around us, and 
sometimes within 10 yards of us. They seemed less afraid of us than 
of the cameras, for they would not alight on their nests very near 
the latter. We got the best results with the Reflex cameras. They 
had many a little squabble among themselves ; they seemed to be dis- 
puting the ownership of the nests, fighting over it in the air, or if 
one alighted on the wrong nest a quarrel would arise with the right- 
ful owner ; but as a rule each bird returned to its own nest with re- 
markable accuracy, and it is a wonder that mistakes were not more 
often made amid such a vast confusion of nests and birds. They 
frequently alighted in the little open pond holes among the reeds, 
where they floated lightly on the surface, swimming about in graceful 
elegance. Many of them alighted on the lake out beyond the reeds, 
where they swam about with the eared grebes, scaups, and canvas- 
backs. There was quite a large colony of the grebes nesting among 
the reeds with the gulls. 

The gulls' nests began about 100 yards from shore and extended 
uniformly over all the reedy area to the outer edge, where they were, 
if anything, more abundant than elsewhere. It seems as if a nest had 
been placed in every available spot, and it was difficult to walk with- 
out stepping on or overturning them. They were in the open places 
and in the thick places as well. The nests were generally large float- 
ing masses of dead reeds, but sometimes they were well built up 
among the green standing reeds and well secured. In the latter case 
the nests were smaller. They varied greatly in size and manner of 
construction. A few that I measured, representing a fair average, 
were from 12 to 30 inches in diameter, and were built up from 4 to 
8 inches above the water; the inner cavity, which was but slightly 
hollowed, was usually about 5 inches across. The nests on the outer 
edge of the reeds seemed to have been occupied first, as it was here 
that we found most of the young. Practically all of the eggs col- 
lected here were heavly incubated, whereas in the nests farther inland 
we found many fresh eggs and incomplete sets, but no young. Three 
eggs were the usual number, though complete sets of two were vevj 
common. We found in all four sets of four, but in these some of the 



166 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

eggs were fresh and some heavily incubated, showing that they were 
probably laid by two birds. After collecting a few sets of eggs and 
exposing a lot of plates we reluctantly came away, not having fired a 
gun among the beautiful and confiding birds. We even refrained 
from killing one which had become tangled in the reeds and was 
easily caught. We visited this locality again the following year, 
but were disappointed to find it entirely abandoned by the gulls, 
which was probably due to the fact that the lake had been very dry 
earlier in the season when they were beginning to nest. 

The colony described above was undoubtedly unusual, as this 
species generally nests in a more open marsh in deeper water and 
often in quite exposed situations in marshy lakes. In the three other 
colonies that I have seen the nests have been floating in water which 
was waist deep, or deeper, and many of the nests could not be reached 
without a boat. Dr. Thomas S. Roberts (1900) describes a typical 
deep-water colony in his account of the nesting habits of this species 
at Heron Lake, Minnesota, in 1899. He says : 

At a distance of about an eighth of a mile from the marshy, reed-grown shore, 
the little floating mounds dotted thickly a great crescent-shaped area some 
three-fourths of a mile in length by 300 or 400 yards in the widest part. The 
nests were irregularly distributed. In some places there were many close 
together, and again they were scattered yards apart, while now and then there 
were large spaces where there were none at all. 

Under ordinary conditions the water over all this area would have been 2 or 
3, nowhere over 4 feet deep, with a thick growth of bullrushes (Scirpus) 
standing well above the surface. But heavy rains had raised the lake until the 
water was in many places fully 6 feet deep and only the tops of the tallest 
rushes came into view ; thus changing a large part of the nesting ground from 
a dense tangled bed of rushes into almost open water. Upon this condition 
of things the birds, of course, had not reckoned when they chose the site, and 
in consequence many of the nests were now torn from their moorings, having 
been lifted by the rising water, and were unprotected save by the weak tops of 
the submerged rushes. Thus free to drift, they were floating hither and 
thither at the mercy of the winds, but, strange to say, this state of things did 
not appear to greatly disconcert the owners. Here and there a number of nests 
had caught against some firm anchorage, and, receiving new additions with 
each favorable breeze, a windrow, or island, of these stray nests was soon 
formed. Nest touching nest in this manner resulted in a promiscuous crowding 
of families that must have tested the good nature and forbearance of the occu- 
pants not a little, and probably led to some vagaries in the care of the young 
described further on. A few nests had gone adrift entirely, and floating far out 
into the open water had been abandoned. But luckily a considerable part of 
the colony, wiser than their fellows, escaped this dire confusion of disaster as 
the result of having located their nests where shallower water and stronger 
growth of rushes provided protection and safe anchorage even when the flood 
was at its height. From nest-building operations "still in progress at the late 
date of our visit (June 16) we inferred that a few at least of the gulls that had 
lost their homes were reestablishing themselves in safer retreats farther back, 
having perhaps learned a lesson against future similar mishaps. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN I 13 PL. 34 







Lake of the Narrows, Saskatchewan. 



A. C. Bent. 




Lake of the Narrows, Saskatchewan. 

Franklin's Gull. 

For description see page 2 



A. C. Bent. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 167 

The nests were all built of the same material — old water-soaked bullrushes — 
with sometimes a few fresh stems worked into the upper part. A heavy- 
foundation of the thickest and longest rushes is first laid, forming a partly 
submerged platform held in place by the standing rushes about it, the whole 
being 2 to 3 feet across at the water line. Upon this the rather well- 
made superstructure of finer material is constructed, with a long slope from 
the water's edge up to the rim of the nest, which is raised 8 inches to a 
foot above the water. The cavity is 8 to 10 inches in diameter and 3 to 4 
in depth, and is rudely lined with bits of fine rush tops and coarse grass. The 
inside is always perfectly dry, being several inches above the water. The 
variation in the nests was not very great, being merely as to general bulk 
and height. Much of the material of which the nests were constructed had 
been carried from a distance, probably from the neighboring shore, where 
the rushes, loosened by the ice, had been cast up in heaps. The gulls carry 
with apparent ease these great heavy rushes, and were often to be seen 
flying about for a considerable time with the long stems dangling from their 
bills. The nests were kept in good repair, and as they became trampled down 
or the rim disarranged the owners were to be seen putting things to rights 
or adding a new rush here and there as it was needed. At the time of our visit 
many young were already out of the shell, but there were also many sets of 
eggs in all stages of incubation, the result probably of second nest building. 

Eggs. — As with most gulls the normal set of eggs is three ; sets of 
four are rare, and often such sets are apparently the product of two 
birds; two eggs sometimes constitute a full set. The eggs show an 
interesting series of variations. In shape they are usually ovate, with 
some variation toward elliptical ovate. The shell is thin and almost 
lusterless. The ground color shows a great variety of buffy and 
greenish buffy shades, from " buffy brown " or " deep olive buff " to 
" cream buff," and from " ecru olive " or " water green " to " vetiver 
green " or " pale olive buff." Some eggs are sparingly spotted and 
others are quite heavily marked with large and small spots, blotches, 
or irregular scrawls, which sometimes are confluent into rings, of 
various shades of brown, such as " seal brown," " sepia," " bister," 
" Vandyke brown," and " burnt umber." Some eggs have a few 
spots of " lilac gray." The measurements of 48 eggs, in the United 
States National Museum collection, average 52 by 36 millimeters; 
the eggs showing the four extremes measure 56.5 by 37, 53.5 by 38.5, 
47.5 by 35.5 and 49.5 by 34 millimeters. 

Young. — I am inclined to think that both sexes incubate, for they 
are apparently affectionate and devoted to each other, both birds 
being often seen standing side by side on the nest. I believe that the 
male stands beside his sitting mate much of the time and relieves her 
by taking his turn on the nest. Dr. Eoberts (1900) says that the 
period of incubation is "probably 18 or 20 days." He gives the 
following interesting account of the behavior of the young: 

These pink-footed, pale-billed little balls of down now and then remain 
quietly in the home nest, basking in the warm sunshine, but more frequently 
they are no sooner dry from the egg than they start to wander. A few are 
174785—21 12 



168 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

content to go no farther than the broad sloping sides of the nest, and there they 
may be seen quietly dozing or tumbling about among the stems of the rushes 
as they explore the intricacies of their little island. The greater number, how- 
ever, put boldly out to sea and drift away with the chance breeze, their tiny 
paddles of little avail as they pursue their now enforced journey. A gust of 
wind a trifle harder than usual, or a bump against a floating reed stem, and 
over they go bottomside up, only to come quickly right again, dry and fluffy 
as ever. Having, after many failures, crawled over the tiny obstruction, they 
sail contentedly on. Now and then they get out to sea in earnest and dis- 
appear, and are probably lost in the rough waters of the open lake. Their 
departure from the nests was apparently ever against the will of the old birds, 
and many were the scoldings and severe the punishments meted out to these 
venturesome offspring. A glance in the direction of some local outburst of 
furious cries would reveal a bevy of gulls crowded close together, beating the air 
and the water over a particular spot, where on closer inspection might be seen 
one or more of these hapless truants. The frenzy of the old birds as the chicks 
neared the open lake was pitiful to behold. With might and main they en- 
deavored to turn them back, seeming not to realize their utter inability to stem 
the breeze even had they the inclination to make the attempt. At last, their 
protests of no avail, a resort is had to still more vigorous measures, and seizing 
the drifting chicks by the nape of the neck with the powerful beak they are 
jerked bodily and roughly out of the water, and from a height of 3 or 4 feet 
thrown as far as possible in the desired direction. This being repeated time 
and again — often several old birds taking part in the performance — until the 
youngsters are at last flung into some nest, exhausted and bleeding from the 
blows and pinches inflicted by the sharp bills of the parent birds. 

This strange spectacle was of common occurrence, and these vigorous nursery 
duties seemed to occupy much of the attention of a goodly part of the members 
of this colony. Probably under ordinary conditions of water and protection 
such disturbances are less frequent. So far as the disciplining and care of the 
young went there existed a curious spirit of communisms among these gulls. 
An old gull cared for whatever young gulls fell in its way, and when the stray 
chicks chanced to clamber up into a strange nest, against which they hap- 
pened to drift, they were, after a few admonishing squawks, welcomed as one 
of the household, and scolded, pecked, and fed just as though the foster 
parent had laid the eggs from which they were hatched. Now and then an 
entire brood would escape in a body, and crawling up beside some incubating 
bird on a neighboring windward nest would cuddle close about the old bird, 
who, to all appearances, was perfectly willing to adopt them in advance of 
the appearance of her own infants. 

Occasionally we saw old gulls already in possession of a family twice the 
size to which they were entitled, rushing out and pouncing upon other fresh 
arrivals, who were quickly hustled and jerked up among the others until not 
infrequently 10 or a dozen of these tiny balls filled the nest to overflowing, 
and in the diversity of coloration presented plainly indicated their varied 
parentage. 

Most jealously were these foundling asylums watched over and many were 
the fierce encounters in midair that resulted when some marauding band 
dared to interfere. A single gull, aided it might be by some accepted neigh- 
bor, fed apparently without distinction all these youngsters, and time and again 
we saw some little chap, just fished out of the water and still sore from the 
rough usage to which he had been subjected, fed to repletion by his captor, 
who disgorged into the tiny maw a juicy mass of dragon-fly nymphs brought 
from the meadows a mile away. 






LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 169 



Plumages. — The downy young exhibit two color phases, with con- 
siderable variation in each. In the brown phase the upper parts are 
"wood brown" anteriorly, becoming "Isabella color" posteriorly; 
the throat and chest are " ochraceous buff," shading off to white on 
the belly. The back is heavily spotted or variegated with dusky, 
and the head is mottled with the same ; there is a frontal black space 
at the base of the bill and usually a few dusky spots on the throat. 
In the gray phase the buff and brown tints are entirely replaced by 
light shades of " neutral gray " or " mouse gray," darker above and 
lighter below, the dusky markings on the upper parts being as de- 
scribed above. 

The juvenal, or first plumage is acquired during July, previous 
to the flight stage. The back, scapulars, and lesser wing-coverts 
are " hair brown " and " drab " ; the feathers edged with " wood 
brown ; " the greater wing-coverts are gray ; the primaries are dusky 
black tipped with white ; the secondaries are centrally black, basally 
gray, broadly tipped, and edged with white; the tertials are dusky, 
broadly edged with white ; the head is mottled with dusky and whit- 
ish above, white below, with a black crescentic spot in front of the 
eye and a white spot below it, the upper tail-coverts are white ; the 
tail is light gray, with a broad subterminal band of dusky; the 
under parts are pure white, or rarely tinged with rosy. 

The postj u venal molt begins early in September and by Novem- 
ber or December the first winter plumage is fully acquired by a 
partial molt, which involves everything but the wings and tail. 
The forehead is now largely white and the under parts are entirely so. 
The crown and occiput are mottled with dusky, the markings coalesc- 
ing into a solid, slate-colored, nuchal collar, including the orbital 
and auricular regions ; and the back is clear " gull-gray." This 
plumage is worn all winter until a complete molt occurs in May 
or earlier, which is practically a prenuptial and a postnuptial 
molt combined. This is a very peculiar molt, for, so far as I know, 
no other gull molts its wings and tail so early in the spring. 
I have seen at least six birds with the primaries in full molt in 
May, and fully as many in fresh plumage that had completed the 
molt in June. Although the birds do not breed in this plumage, I 
suppose we may as well call it a first-nuptial plumage. It is char- 
acterized by a partial, black hood, the head being mottled black and 
white. There is much individual variation, but usually the black 
predominates above and the white below; the outer primary is 
black, with a broad whitish wedge extending more than halfway up 
the inner web. The black decreases on each succeeding primary in- 
wardly until it nearly or quite disappears on the innermost, which is 
largely " gull-gray." All the primaries are white-tipped ; the tail 
is usually like the adult, but sometimes has a few dusky shaft streaks 



170 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

near the end. There is a slight roseate suffusion on the breast in 
this plumage. Perhaps the flight feathers are not molted again 
that year, but undoubtedly the plumage of the head is replaced by 
the winter plumage like that of the adult, and perhaps the wings 
may also be molted again during the late summer or fall. I have 
been unable to trace into subsequent plumages the peculiar wing 
acquired during the first spring, nor do I know when it is replaced. 

The next step toward maturity we find in birds in both nuptial 
and winter plumages in which the plumage is fully adult except the 
primaries. This is undoubtedly the second year plumage, and the 
inference is that it is acquired at a complete postnuptial molt 
when the bird is a little over a year old, which means that the two 
complete molts are only about six months apart. In this plumage 
the primaries are black for a distance of about 3 inches from the tip 
on the outer and for a decreasing distance on each succeeding pri- 
mary. The tips of all the primaries are white, sometimes for an inch 
or so on the outer, and sometimes there is an indistinct white spot 
in the black of the outer primary. At each succeeding molt the 
black in the primaries decreases and the white increases until only 
a small black area remains on each primary. There is apparently 
much individual variation in the extent and rapidity of this change. 

The complete postnuptial molt of adults occurs mainly in Au- 
gust and September, but it is often not completed until October. 
The outer primaries are the last to be renewed. Winter adults have 
the forehead, lores, and throat white, and the occiput, cervix, loral, 
and auricular regions densely mottled or washed with slate gray. 
The beautiful nuptial plumage is acquired by a partial or perhaps a 
complete prenuptial molt in April and May. ; 

Food. — The food and feeding habits of the Franklin's gull demon- 
strate its value to the agricultural interests of the west, and prove 
that it is almost wholly, if not entirely, beneficial to mankind. Dur- 
ing the nesting season, at least, its food is almost wholly insectiv- 
orous. 

Doctor Roberts (1900) says of its food at this season: 

The stomachs and gullets of several birds collected by the writer and kindly 
examined by Professor Beal, of the Biological Survey at Washington, con- 
tained a mass of insect debris to the exclusion of all else. One stomach alone 
furnished some 15 different species, among them several varieties injurious to 
the interests of man. The chief part of the food, however, during the time of 
our visit to the colony, and that on which the young were largely fed, was 
the nymphs of dragon flies, which were then to be found in immense numbers in 
the meadows near by. The writer counted no less than 327 of these insects in a 
single stomach. 

Early in the spring, when the farmers are plowing, these gulls 
follow the plow in large numbers, contending with the blackbirds 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 35 






' * 2 




North Dakota. 



H. K. Job. 




Lake of the Narrows, Saskatchewan. 

Franklin's Gull. 

For description see page 333. 



H. K. Job. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 17 1 

and other birds in picking up from the freshly turned furrows 
quantities of angleworms, cutworms, and other grubs and larvae. 
Later in the season they resort to the prairies and grass fields to feed 
on grasshoppers and locusts, many of which are caught on the wing. 
I have seen them hovering over the water in open sloughs and small 
ponds and daintily gathering bits of food from the surface which 
probably consisted of aquatic insects or their larvae, and possibly a 
few small fish. I have also seen them coursing low over the meadows 
like large swallows, catching mosquitos and other small insects in 
the air. I once saw a great cloud of them flying over a large marshy 
area in the interior of an island in Lake Winnipegosis. They were 
so thick and so much excited that I thought it must be a nesting 
colony, but on investigation I found that they were feeding on the 
swarms of gnats, flies, and other minute insects that were rising from 
the bushes in long swaying columns like clouds of smoke. The air 
was full of dragon flies which were preying on the same insects, 
and probably the gulls were feeding on them also. 

Mr. John F. Ferry (1910) states that the stomachs of three birds 
taken in Saskatchewan contained remains of numerous midges and 
Acrididae, a spider, a small mole cricket, a water beetle, and several 
large dragon-flies. 

Behavior. — In flight the Franklin's gull is as light and graceful 
as at other times. When traveling long distances, as it does regularly, 
to and from its feeding grounds, it proceeds rather swiftly, with 
constant flappings in widely scattered and open flocks at a moderate 
height. When rising from or alighting on the water or ground its 
feet are allowed to dangle, but ordinarily they are stretched out 
behind and partly or wholly concealed under the feathers. At times 
small parties indulge in aerial exercise or sport by soaring upward 
in spiral curves, sailing on outstretched, motionless wings, mounting 
higher and higher, until almost lost to sight. Large numbers gather 
regularly at certain spots apparently for the sole purpose of perform- 
ing these aerial evolutions, and after an hour or so of such exercise 
they suddenly disappear, as mysteriously as they came, drifting aim- 
lessly about in roving bands. If one of their number is shot they 
gather immediately into a dense, hovering screaming flock, darting 
down toward their fallen companion, but if no more are killed they 
soon lose interest and silently drift away. 

The Franklin's gull swims with exquisite grace and buoyancy, 
floating lightly on the surface. About its breeding grounds it is 
very tame and many a beautiful picture is seen of a party of these 
lovely birds, resting on the placid water of some small marshy pool, 
the delicate colors of their spotless plumage clearly reflected in its 
glassy surface and offset by a background of dark green reeds. 



172 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

My field notes describe the ordinary note of this gull as a soft 
" Krrruk "ora low clucking call. This is sometimes varied with a 
louder and more plaintive cry, sounding like " pway " or " pwa-ay," 
which is rather musical; and when much excited or alarmed, as on 
their breeding grounds, it utters loud, shrill, piercing screams. Mr. 
Thomas Miller, in a letter to Major Bendire, described its notes 
as follows : 

While feeding, their call is a shrill " Kuk Kuk Kuk Kuk " repeated inces- 
santly, varied at times with their characteristic " Weeh-a Weeh-a," the first 
syllable prolonged and uttered with the rising inflection. This is the call 
most commonly heard, and while flying home from feeding about the only 
one they use. In visiting the breeding place they hover over you and repeat 
this call with a mournful cadence, as if imploring you not to molest their 
nests. Then their cries are incessant and can be heard a long way off. On 
bright sunny days in May and June they soar in the air to a great height, so 
high as to be scarcely visible, when they swoop back and forth crying " Weeh-a 
Weeh-a Weeh-a Po-lee Po-lee Po-lee Po-lee." The last notes are invariably 
uttered shorter and quicker than the first. They will fly thus all day long 
and the note " Po-lee Po-lee " is only heard when they are soaring at a great 
height during fine weather. This note is not unlike that heard on the Scottish 
moorlands while the whaup or sickle bill curlew is circling around the lonely 
traveler. 

Mr. J. W. Preston (1886) says that "at intervals they utter a 
shill, clear cry much resembling the call of the marbled godwit. 
Their ordinary note is a loud, mewing cry, uttered in a short, 
jerky, impatient manner, somewhat resembling the mewing of a 
cat. This call is constantly kept up, and when they congregate at 
their rookery in the evening the din is deafening, and may be heard 
all night during the mating season, which begins about May 1 and 
lasts until the 15th of the month. Regularly at dark a large 
portion of the flock took their noisy way to the open lake, where 
they remained on the water until light." 

Franklin's gulls are not only highly gregarious among themselves, 
nesting in compact colonies of immense numbers, but they are de- 
cidedly sociable toward other species, especially on their breeding 
grounds. In the sloughs where they breed they have for intimate 
neighbors large numbers of yellow-headed blackbirds, black terns, 
coots, rails, grebes, canvasbacks, redheads, and ruddy ducks, with all 
of whom they seem to be on good terms. They seem to be particu- 
larly intimately associated with eared grebes. There is almost always 
a colony of these grebes in or near every Franklin's gull colony, and 
often the nests of the two species are closely intermingled. Mr. Her- 
bert K. Job has a photograph of a Franklin's gull eating the eggs in 
an eared grebe's nest, but I doubt if they regularly disturb the nests 
of their neighbors to any great extent, although nest-robbing is a 



LITE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 173 

trait peculiar to almost all gulls. Mr. Preston (1886) says of their 
behavior : 

While defending their nests they evince great courage and spirit, successfully 
routing the Canada goose (Bernicla canadensis), white pelican (Pelecanus 
erythrorhynchus) , and other large birds which chanced to molest them. A most 
distressing sight was the determined but unsuccessful attempt of a dozen 
frightened gulls to chase a large snapping turtle from a nest on which it had 
killed the mother bird and was leisurely devouring her eggs. When I ap- 
proached the nest the owners, with a few others, hovered about crying piteously, 
almost striking me with their wings. 

Fall. — After the breeding season is over these gulls gather into 
immense flocks and wander about in search of suitable feeding 
grounds, where they must prove of great benefit in destroying vast 
hordes of injurious insects, such as locusts and grasshoppers, which 
are swarming on the prairies during the latter half of the summer. 
Mr. George Atkinson, according to Macoun (1909), says of their 
abundance at that season : 

While driving into the Eagle hills, about 40 miles west of Saskatoon, on July 
30, 1906, we passed an extensive mud flat and salty slough, on which rested 
between four and five solid acres of gulls. I fired a shot into the air to note 
the effect and they rose as one bird in such a cloud that their wings clashed 
together in a frantic flapping and their discordant cries were almost deafening. 
It would be entirely impossible to estimate the number of birds in this flock. 

Dr. Thomas S. Roberts has sent me the following interesting ex- 
tracts from his field notes on the behavior of Franklin's gulls in the 
great autumnal gatherings of this species in Minnesota : 

Immense numbers of these gulls spend the nights out in the open lake, congre- 
gating to form one or two or sometimes three flocks, 600 or 800 feet long and 
200 or 300 feet wide. The gulls sit close on the water, so that from a distance 
they look like vast " banks " of ducks, except when the sun strikes them just 
right, then they show white. During the day the gulls feed on the fields and 
prairies at some distance from the lake, returning toward evening in various 
sized flocks and assembling out in the lake for the night. About sunrise in the 
morning they begin to stir, and for a time there is great commotion among 
them. Soon they get up in a body and the air is filled with them. As the 
slanting sun strikes their snowy bodies and slowly moving wings it is a 
curious and beautiful sight, appearing as though the air were filled with huge 
snowfiakes or eddying bits of silver tinsel. Rising to some distance above the 
water they start for their feeding grounds in a great straggling company, the 
head of the flock soon becoming V-shaped as geese fly. Later they break up 
into numerous smaller flocks, each flying in more or less perfect V-shaped 
formation. They return at night in the same way or in broad straight-fronted 
flocks, and when the light makes them appear dark the inexperienced sportsman 
is apt to think a tempting flock of small geese is approaching. They fly too 
slowly for ducks. 

On October 4 at 5 p. m. the gulls came from the north at a great height, 
circling around against the blue sky, appearing like shining white specks as the 
sun struck their white bodies. The wings were invisible, but their movements 
caused a flickering or twinkling, causing the gulls to look like stars in the deep 



174 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

blue sky ; as they darted about or dropped suddenly the effect was that of shoot- 
ing stars. I lay on my back on the bank for some time watching them. As 
they reached a point over the lake they descended by a series of sudden down- 
ward shoots or more frequently by a gentle spiral. 

From the southeast the gulls came in immense flocks, low down, larger than 
I have seen before. At times the stream seemed to extend for what appeared 
about a mile and was at places dense and broad, at others thin. But the 
number of gulls was something beyond calculation; it reminded one of the 
way wild pigeons used to fly. As they approached the water they dropped 
near the surface and swept up the lake in great clouds to join the great con- 
course already assembled. This flight of gulls is something that never ceases 
to interest me; they are in such vast numbers, so regular in their habits, and 
so beautiful. 

October 5. The gulls left the lake this morning going northward between 9 
and 10. Many flew out in flocks directly, but I noticed a new performance. 
Over the lake a hundred or more gulls would get together and begin to fly 
about rapidly in a circle, and, others joining them, there was soon formed a 
great whirling mass of gulls, the birds moving in all directions within the 
globe, but turning about when reaching its limits. It was a curious sight, espe- 
cially as at times Ave or six of these great whirligigs would be in view at the 
same time. It was a great game and presented a spectacle of perfect abandon. 
Fresh flocks encountering one of these merry-go-rounds either passed directly 
through it or more often joined at once in the sport. Round and round and 
up and down they went, forming a great whirling mass, which, as a whole, 
wound slowly onward away from the lake. Sometimes two of these eddying 
groups encountered each other, and then they merged to form a single one. 
They broke up finally by the gulls that tired first steering away in the direction 
of the flight until all had gone. I lay beside a haystack in the warm sun for 
an hour watching this gull play. The masses formed directly in front of me 
and passed over and by me at a height of 75 to 100 feet. It reminded me most 
of the revolving balls of gnats or other insects one sometimes sees on still 
evenings. The morning was clear, warm, and only a moderate breeze blowing 
from the north. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Prairie regions of the northern interior. East to 
central Manitoba (Shoal Lake) and western Minnesota (Becker and 
Jackson Counties, Heron Lake). South to northwestern Iowa (Dick- 
inson County, formerly), northeastern South Dakota (Brookings, 
Clark, and Marshall Counties), southwestern Saskatchewan (Crane 
Lake region), and northern Utah (Bear Kiver). West to southeast- 
ern Alberta (Many Island Lake). North to central Saskatchewan 
(south and east of the Saskatchewan Kiver) and central Manitoba 
(Waterhen Lake). 

Winter range. — A few birds winter in the Gulf of Mexico from 
the coast of Louisiana to Panama, on the west coast of Mexico 
(Mazatlan) and Guatemala (Chiapam) ; but the main winter range 
is on the west coast of South America, from northern Peru (Payta) 
to Patagonia and southern Chile (Magellan). 

Spring migration. — Northward by the most direct route. Dates of 
arrival : Minnesota, Heron Lake, average April 4 and earliest March 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 175 

27; Manitoba, Aweme, average April 25 and earliest April 8; Sas- 
katchewan, Indian Head, average May 3 and earliest April 25. Tran- 
sient dates : Missouri, April 20 to May 15 ; Kansas, April 10 to June 
9 ; Iowa, April 6 to June 27. Late dates of departure : Peru, Callao 
Bay, April 11; Guatemala, Champerico, May 30; Texas, Kerrville, 
May 17 and Aransas Bay, June. 

Fall migration — A reversal of the spring route, but more erratic. 
First arrivals reach Chile, Valparaiso, in September. Late dates of 
departure; Minnesota, Madison, October 8; Iowa, November 6; Ne- 
braska, Lincoln, November 17 ; Texas, Brownsville, November 10. 

Casual records. — Has wandered on migrations to Hudson Bay 
(specimen in British Museum from Hayes River) ; Pennsylvania 
(Philadelphia, October 22, 1911) ; Virginia (Blacksburg, October 24, 
1898) ; the West Indies (St. Bartholomew Island) ; California (Hy- 
perion, October 17 and November 24, 1914) ; and many other inland 
localities. Accidental in Hawaiian Islands (Mauai, winter). 

Egg dates. — Minnesota and North Dakota : Forty-two records, May 
3 to June 26 ; twenty-one records, May 18 to June 4. Manitoba and 
Saskatchewan: Twenty-one records, June 5 to 16; eleven records, 
June 6 to 11. 

LARUS PHILADELPHIA (Ord). 
BONAPABTE'S GULL. 

HABITS. 

This widely distributed American species is found at some season 
of the year in nearly all parts of our continent. As it retires to the 
northern wooded regions of Canada to breed, it is familiar to most of 
us only as a migrant or a winter visitor, and few naturalists have 
studied it on its breeding grounds. During the first warm weather 
in April, when the shad and herring are beginning to run up our 
rivers, we begin to see the migrating flocks of this pretty little gull 
moving northward along our coasts or up the valleys of our great 
rivers in the interior. They proceed in a leisurely manner, drifting 
along in loose flocks, as if aimlessly wandering, stopping to dip down 
and occasionally pick some morsel of food from the surface of the 
water, chattering to each other in soft conversational notes, or 
coursing over the meadows and marshes to catch the first flying in- 
sects of spring. The black-headed adults make up the vanguard of 
the migrating hosts, followed later by the immature birds ; flocks of 
young birds, however, often have one or two adults with them as 
leaders. Sir John Richardson (1851) says: 

This species arrives very early in the season, before the ground is de- 
nuded of snow, and seeks its food in the first pools of water which form on 
the borders of Great Bear Lake, and wherein it finds multitudes of minute 
crustacean animals and larvae of insects. 



176 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Nesting. — I have never succeeded in finding its breeding grounds 
and must quote from what scanty accounts of its nesting habits have 
been published. Mr. Roderick MacFarlane (1891) writes: 

Thirty-seven nests are recorded as having been taken, with eggs in them, be- 
tween 10th June and 10th July, in the wooded country in the neighborhood of 
Fort Anderson and on Lower Anderson River. They were all built on trees at 
various heights (from 4 to 15 and even 20 feet) from the ground, and, with 
one exception, which was composed of down and velvety leaves held together 
by some stringy turf, they were made of small sticks and twigs lined with 
hay and mosses, etc. The parents always fly about in close proximity to the 
nest, and scream vehemently when explorers, in the interests of science, are 
obliged to deprive them of their eggs or young, and not infrequently shoot one 
of them. They seldom lay more than three eggs. 

The following account is published by Baird, Brewer, and Ridg- 

way (1884) : 

Mr. Kennicott found this gull nesting in the neighborhood of Fort Yukon, 
and describes the nest as being of about the size of that of Zenaidura carol- 
inensis; but the cavity is rather deeper. It was placed on the side branch of 
a green spruce, several feet from the trunk, and about 20 feet from the ground, 
near a lake. Mr. Kennicott saw several nests near this one, all alike and in 
similar positions, except that some were not over 10 feet from the ground, and 
were on smaller trees ; but all were on spruce trees. One nest which he exam- 
ined contained three young birds of a dirty yellowish color, thickly spotted with 
dark brown. He saw between 25 and 50 gulls about that breeding place, but he 
found only a few of their nests. These birds were said by the Indians always to 
breed in similar situations. 

This species apparently bred formerly as far south as Michigan 
and Wisconsin, in the region of the Great Lakes. Mr. W. H. Col- 
lins (1880) was told by hunters living at St. Clair Flats that Bona- 
parte's gulls bred "in Baltimore Bay and the North Channel, and 
that they lay their eggs on old logs with no signs of a nest." Kum- 
lien and Hollister (1903) write: 

In 1880 a few were said to breed on Chambers Island, Green Bay, and we 
saw on some small islands in Big Bay de Noquet, Michigan, a number of nests 
like pigeons' nests on the flat branches of low coniferous trees that without 
question had been used by these birds. 

Eggs. — The Bonaparte's gull lays from two to four eggs, ordina- 
rily three, frequently only two, and rarely four. The eggs somewhat 
resemble those of the Franklin's gull, but are considerably smaller. 
In shape they are ovate, pointed ovate, or pointed elongate ovate. 
The ground color varies from " buffy citrine " or " Dresden brown " 
to " dark olive buff " or " deep olive buff." They are more or less 
evenly spotted or irregularly blotched, rarely scrawled, with various 
shades of brown, " brownish olive," and " brownish drab," too numer- 
ous and variable to be definitely named. The measurements of eggs, 
in various collections, average 49.5 by 34.9 millimeters; the eggs 



LIFE HISTORIES OF iS'ORTH AMERICAN" GULLS AND TERNS. 177 

showing the four extremes measure 54 by 37, 50.6 by 38.2, 44.5 by 
35, and 47 by 32.5 millimeters. 

Plumages. — I have never seen the downy young of the Bonaparte's 
gull, but Dr. Jonathan D wight (1901) describes it as " much like 
that of Sterna hirundo, yellowish with dusky mottling above." He 
describes the juvenal plumage as follows: 

The upper surface is decidedly brown, with paler edgings; a blackish brown 
band extends along the cubital border of the wing into the tertiaries ; the 
secondaries have dusky markings ; the primaries show little white, their coverts 
being partly black, and the tail is white with a broad subterminal black band, 
the rectrices being tipped with buff. The sides of the head are white with a 
dull black auricular patch and an anteorbital spot, and the rest of the lower 
parts are white with a brownish wash on the sides of the neck and breast. 
The bill and feet are black. 

This plumage is partially replaced, in September and October, by 
the first winter plumage, the molt involving only the contour 
feathers. " A blue-gray mantle and paler head are assumed," but 
the wings and tail of the juvenal plumage are retained. A partial 
prenuptial molt, involving mainly the head and neck, possibly some 
of the body plumage, takes place during March and April. At this 
molt most specimens merely renew the first winter plumage on the 
head, but some birds acquire a partially black head. In some birds 
the head is only slightly mottled above, but in others the deep plum- 
beous hood of the adult nuptial is more or less complete. Young 
birds can always be readily distinguished, even at a distance, by the 
broad, dusky, subterminal band on the tail and by the color pattern 
of the wings. The dusky cubital band is always in evidence, though 
often much faded, in the lesser wing-coverts. The scapulars are 
largely dusky, the greater wing-coverts partly so, and all the remiges 
are broadly tipped with dusky. The three outer primaries are also 
dusky on the outer web and for a narrow space on the inner web, next 
to the shaft, on the outer two. 

A complete postnuptial molt occurs in summer, beginning in 
July or August and lasting sometimes until October, at which the 
adult winter plumage is assumed, with the pure white tail and the 
white, black-tipped primaries. Adults have a partial prenuptial 
molt, as in young birds, and a complete postnuptial molt in sum- 
mer. I have examined adults in full winter plumage as late as 
March 17 and molting into nuptial plumage at various dates from 
March 30 to May 15. I have seen specimens taken on the Pacific 
coast in full nuptial plumage on November 6 and December 2, but 
ordinarily the postnuptial molt begins in August and is completed 
in October ; usually the flight feathers are molted last. 

Food. — Like its larger relative, the Franklin's gull, the Bonaparte's 
gull is largely insectivorous. Over the marshy ponds of the interior 



178 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

flocks of these pretty birds are frequently seen beating back and 
forth, adroitly catching insects on the wing, and their stomachs are 
often packed full of such food. Many insects are gleaned from the 
surface of still pools or picked up from the drift rows of decaying 
vegetation along the shores. Mr. Arthur H. Norton (1909) says that 
in Maine it "has been found feeding over rafts of drifting sea- 
weeds, when its diet was found to consist of maggots, probably 
Ooleopa frigida — a fly that breeds at high-water mark in decaying 
seaweeds (Algae and Zostera)." ISTuttall (1834) examined two that 
" were gorged with ants and their eggs, and some larvae of moths in 
their pupa state." On the seacoast they live on small fish, shrimps, 
and other surface-swimming crustaceans, marine worms, and other 
small aquatic animals. Apparently very little, if any, vegetable 
food is taken. 

Behavior. — The flight of this species is very light and buoyant, as 
well as active and graceful. It is more tern-like than gull-like, and 
it might easily be overlooked in a flock of loitering terns. When 
moving about looking for food its flight seems listless and desultory ; 
every stroke of its long wings lifts its light body perceptibly, as 
it drives it along much faster than it seems. Like snowflakes 
wafted by the wind the loose flock drifts along; one hardly realizes 
that it has come before it has swept away beyond our vision. Yet 
with all this apparent listlessness there is no lack of the power of 
control; it can breast the heaviest storms, it can rise and fall over 
the crests of the largest waves, and can go whither it will with the 
utmost ease and grace. It swims with equal buoyancy and grace, 
resting on the surface as lightly as an eggshell. I have sometimes 
seen it dive, though its food is often picked up while it is swimming 
on the surface ; but more often it drops lightly down in the air, pick- 
ing the morsel from the water with its bill and perhaps touching 
the surface with its feet. 

Its voice is not powerful, but when feeding in flocks it is often 
quite talkative. Doctor Townsend (1905) says that "occasionally 
it emits a harsh, rasping cry, but as a rule it is silent." Neltje 
Blanchan (1898) describes its note as " a plaintive shrill, but rather 
feeble cry, that was almost a whistle." 

Fall. — Of the fall migration of this gull in Ohio, Prof. Lynds 
Jones (1909) writes: 

In my experience this gull is far more numerous on both sides of Cedar Point 
sand spit than elsewhere along the lake, and the times of maximum numbers 
occur between November 1 and December 30. During the last three winters I 
have found a flock of from 50 to 500 birds ranging along the shore of the sand 
spit as long as there remained open water, which was well into January. They 
act much like terns diving headlong into the water for fish, but can always be 
readily distinguished from them by the almost sparrow-like conversational notes 
instead of the harsh ter-r-r of the terns. They seem to prefer the vicinity of 



LIFE HISTOKIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 179 

the lake beach to the marshes for feeding grounds, possibly because small fish 
are more numerous there. On the occasions when the pent-up swamp waters at 
Rye Beach have broken through into the lake carrying all sorts of debris upon 
their floods, these gulls have collected at the place in great numbers, feeding. 

Winter. — Bonaparte's gull also winters to some extent along the 
whole of both coasts of the United States, though rather rarely north- 
ward and much more abundantly southward, where it is associated 
with nearly all of the other common species. At this season it 
frequents the bays, harbors, and tidal estuaries, where it can find 
small fry to feed upon. I know of no prettier, winter, seashore 
scene than a flock of these exquisite little gulls hovering over some 
favorite feeding place, plunging into the cold gray water, unmindful 
of the chilly blasts and the swirling snow squalls. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Known to breed at only a few localities in the 
timbered regions of the northwest. East in Mackenzie to the Ander- 
son Eiver, Great Bear Lake (Fort Franklin) and Great Slave Lake 
(Forts Fae and Eesolution) and on Southampton Island. South in 
British Columbia to the Cariboo District (Quesnelle Lake). West in 
Alaska nearly to the northwest coast (Nulato and Kowak Eiver). 
North to the limit of trees. Adults, in breeding plumage, occur 
in summer more or less regularly as far south as the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence (Cape Breton and Magdalen Islands), some of the Great 
Lakes (Lake Michigan), ana Saskatchewan (Quill Lake), which 
suggests that they probably breed far south and east of the known 
breeding places. 

"Winter range. — On the Atlantic coast regularly from South Caro- 
lina southward, more rarely farther north, straggling as far north 
as Maine. Frequently in Bermuda. On the Gulf coast from Ala- 
bama and Louisiana southward to Yucatan (Progreso). On the 
Pacific coast from Washington (Gray's Harbor) southward as far 
as central Mexico (Jalisco), rarely to Peru. 

Spring migration. — Northwestward from the Atlantic coast to 
the interior. Early dates of arrival : Pennsylvania, Erie, April 13 ; 
New York, April 21; Prince Edward Island, May 10; Quebec, 
Godbout, April 27. Late dates of departure: Florida, Coronado, 
April 9 ; South Carolina, Charleston, May 15 ; District of Columbia, 
May 30; Pennsylvania, Erie, May 25; New York, June 14; Massa- 
chusetts, June 9.. Dates for the interior: Louisiana, New Orleans 
(latest), March 25; Kansas (average), April 21; Michigan, Ann 
Arbor (average), April 19; Manitoba (average), April 24; Macken- 
zie, Fort Eesolution (average arrival), May 14, and Fort Simpson, 



180 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

May 12 to 22 ; California, Monterey, rare after May 18, latest June 
2 ; British Columbia, transients passing from April 11 to May 24. 

Fall migration. — Southeastward to the Atlantic coast via James 
Bay and the Great Lakes. Early dates of arrival : Gulf of St. Law- 
rence, August 4 ; Massachusetts, August 13 ; South Carolina, Charles- 
ton, August 20; Florida, Coronado, September 16. Late dates of 
departure: Quebec, Montreal, October 1; Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
November 25 ; Massachusetts, December 23. Late dates of departure 
in the interior : Manitoba, October 24 ; Minnesota, Aitkin, November 
2; Nebraska, Lincoln, November 3; Missouri, Jackson County, De- 
cember 8. On the Pacific coast early arrivals reach California, 
Los Angeles County, August 20. Late birds recorded in Alaska, 
Unalaska, October 5. 

Casual records. — Accidental on Laysan Island (December 27, 
1912), on Heligoland (winter, 1845), and in Great Britain (8 or 10 
records). 

Egg dates. — Anderson River region: Twenty records, June 10 to 
July 5 ; ten records, June 17 to 23. 

LARUS MINUTUS Pallas. 

LITTLE GTJLL. 

HABITS'. 

Contributed by Charles Wendell Townsend. 

The little gull is appropriately named, for it is the smallest of 
all gulls, being but 11 inches in length. Bonaparte's gull, one of 
the next smallest gulls, averages 3 inches longer. Although a native 
of Europe and Asia, breeding in the northern parts and wintering 
as far south as the Mediterranean, it deserves a secure place in the 
American avifauna, as there are several authentic records of its 
occurence in this country and others which are reasonably certain. 
The first is mentioned by Swainson and Richardson (1831), who 
say: 

A specimen obtained on Sir John Franklin's first expedition was determined 
by Mr. Sabine to be a young bird of the first year of this species, exactly 
according to M. Temminck's description. 

According to Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway (1884), one was ob- 
tained at Bermuda on January 22, 1849, by Major Wedderburn, 
and another one was killed in the following month; also specimens 
were obtained near Mazatlan, on the western coast of Mexico, in 
1868 by Colonel Grayson. The first thoroughly authentic specimen 
is recorded by Dutcher (1888) of a bird shot by Robert Powell at 
Fire Island, Long Island, New York, about September 15, 1887. The 
specimen is now in the American Museum of Natural History. A 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 181 

second specimen, now in the Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of 
Arts and Sciences, was shot by Mr. Eobert L. Peavey in a flock of 
Bonaparte's gulls at Rockaway Beach, Long Island, on May 10, 
1902, and recorded by Braislin (1903). The last recorded specimen 
is one taken at Pine Point, Scarborough, Maine, on July 20, 1910, 
that fortunately fell into the hands of Mr. Arthur H. Norton (1910), 
who has also brought together all the evidence for its occurence in 
America. 

Nesting. — In the neighborhood of the Baltic this gull breeds in 
marshes and nests on grassy knolls and floating islets of tangled 
plants. The nest is made of leaves and grass. Three eggs consti- 
tute a set, although sometimes four and rarely five are laid. The 
eggs vary in color from yellowish-brown and olive brown to greenish- 
gray, marked with spots and blotches of reddish brown and gray. 
They are considerably smaller than those of the Bonaparte's gull 
and measure 1.66 by 1.25 inches Meves, quoted by Dresser (1871), 
says that both the nest and eggs resemble closely those of Sterna 
hirundo that nested among them. He found, however, that the yolk 
of the little gull's egg was of an orange-red color, while that of the 
common tern was ocher-yellow. Both parents incubate. 

Plumages. — In the juvenal plumage the upper parts are mottled 
with dark brown, and there is a band of the same color at the tip of 
the tail; the bill is blackish and the feet yellow. In the adult 
nuptial dress this bird, like the Bonaparte's gull, has a black hood. 
The mantle is pale gray, the underparts suffused with pink. The 
primaries are tipped with white, dark below; bill reddish brown, 
feet vermillion. The adult in winter loses the black hood and the 
head and neck are white, brownish gray on the occiput; there is a 
dusky spot in the auricular region. In many ways it resembles 
Bonaparte's gull, but lacks the broad black anterior and posterior 
margin to the wings. Norton (1910) sums "p the distinctive marks 
of its plumage as follows : 

The adults are distinguished at once by the broad white posterior border 
of the wing without black, the pale pearl gray mantle, and the slaty lower 
surface of the wings. The young, by the inner vanes of the outer primaries 
being chiefly white ; the inner primaries with both webs gray, their tips white, 
the white increasing in length as it proceeds in, and without black subterminal 
areas. Moreover, it is the smallest known gull. 

Food. — Dresser (1871) quotes Meves as to their feeding habits, as 
follows : 

I found in the stomachs of many of the little gulls I examined not only in- 
sects but chiefly small fishes, which they are continually catching in the lake. 
Very few had insects in their stomachs ; but it is probable that later, when the 
Neuroptera, Phryganiae, and Epliemera are more abundant, they feed on these 
in preference, as is the case with the black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) . 
Others hav^ found Neuroptera in their stomachs. 



182 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Behavior. — In flight and general habits the little gull is said to 
closely resemble the black-headed gull. They are very tame and 
fearless of danger. Their flight is graceful and active, and it is 
said at times to be butterfly-like or to resemble that of swallows. 
Professor Liljeborg, quoted by Dresser, says that their graceful and 
quick evolutions in pursuit of insects " almost surpass goatsuckers." 
In a word, these gulls resemble terns in flight rather than the 
larger gulls. 

Fall. — Gatke (1895), at Heligoland, says: 

All the gulls leave their northern breeding stations before the approach of 
winter in order to betake themselves to more temperate latitudes. In the case 
of none, however, does this movement so much partake of the nature of a 
true migration as in that of the present species. Long-extending flights of 
these pretty little birds may be seen traveling over the sea past the island at the 
close of September and during the first half of October. Their movements, 
however, are quite different from what one is accustomed to see in the case 
of most migrants. Companies of from 100 to 200 individuals travel in motley 
throng quite low over the sea, continuously dropping to the surface to pick 
up food. All the time, however, they rigidly maintain their western course of 
flight, and speeding along with great rapidity are very soon lost to sight. 
Moreover, considerable quantities of these gulls, intermingled with the larger 
species, are met with here all the winter months during violent westerly and 
northwesterly gales, when they seek a temporary shelter on the lee side of the 
island. While roving over the sea in all directions in search of food they 
execute many rapid beats with their wings. 

Winter. — Canon Tristram writes to Dresser (1871) that " Larus 
minutus abounds in winter on all the shallow lagoons of the North- 
African coast, especially between Tunis and Carthage, where it is 
extremely tame, flying and dipping after small fish like a tern." 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Iceland, Northern Europe, and Asia, from 
Jutland, Prussia, Gothland, and the northern half of Russia, east- 
ward across Siberia to the Sea of Okhotsk, and northward to 
Archangel and to the Arctic Circle on the Obi River. 

Winter range. — South to north Africa coasts, the Mediterranean 
Sea, and inland waters of southern Europe; occasional in Great 
Britain. 

Casual records. — Two records for Long Island, New York (Fire 
Island, September 15, 1887, and Rockaway Beach, May 10, 1902) ; 
two for Maine (St. George, August 12, 1904, and Scarborough, 
July 20, 1910) ; and two for Bermuda (January 22 and February, 
1849) . Accidental in northern India and in Faroe Islands. 

Egg dates. — Northern Europe: Nine records, May 23 to June 
16 ; five records, June 4 to 11. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 183 
RHODOSTETHIA ROSEA (Macgillivray) . 
ROSS'S GTJLL. 

HABITS. 

The rosy gull is not only the most beautiful of the gulls but it is 
the most strictly Arctic, one of the rarest in collections and, to all 
but a favored few, the least known. Owing to its restricted habitat 
in an inaccessible region, few of us may ever expect to see it. As its 
wanderings carry it over a wide area in Arctic regions, a few speci- 
mens have been picked up by Arctic explorers. For nearly all that 
we know of its habits we are indebted to the Russian explorer and 
good ornithologist, Dr. Sergius A. Buturlin (1906), who, during his 
visit to the Kolyma delta, on the Arctic coast of eastern Siberia, in 
1905, collected 38 skins and 36 eggs of this beautiful bird. Fortu- 
nately he has given us a very full and interesting life history of this 
species, from which I shall quote freely. 

The delta of the Kolyma, which is the easternmost of the great rivers of the 
North Polar basin, lies, roughly speaking, between 68i° and 69f° N. lat. and 
from 159° to 161^° E. long. This vast area, at least 15,000 square kilometers 
in extent, consists of a liberal admixture of lakes, lagoons, channels, rivulets 
("viska"), swamps, moors, and damp ground of every description, with dry 
places only at intervals. The southern part of this delta, some one-third or 
even less of the whole, is covered by forests. The other parts stretch beyond 
the northern limit of the forests, but are for the most part covered by ex- 
tremely dense and well-grown bushes of Alnus incana (ordinarily 5 to 10 feet 
high, but occasionally reaching a height of 15 feet with a thickness of from 
5 to 6 inches), and by various species of Salix. The traveler must go some 
20 kilometers from the main channels of the great river, and then perhaps 2 
or 3 kilometers from the rivulet or " viska " along which he is advancing, to 
find a little piece of true " tundra " such as I have seen on Kolguev Island, 
with lichens covering the ground, tiny bushes of Betula nana, and different 
Salices studded over the drier spots, and mosses and Varices clothing the damp 
portions. 

Spring. — After a period of very cold weather during the first half 
of May he describes the breaking up of winter, the coming of the 
earliest birds, and the arrival of the Ross's gulls on their breeding 
grounds, as follows: 

Toward the middle of May the weather became somewhat better, and the 
snow melted at midday (freezing again, of course, in the shade), so that on 
the southern slopes and sandy islands the soil made its appearance. At this 
time the first specimens of geese (Anser serrirostris, A. gambeli, and in small 
numbers A. rhodorhynchus) , and even swans (Cygnus bewicki) made their 
appearance, migrating down the river; while about May 20 small parties of 
them passed. Linota exilipes, Plectrophenax nivalis, Corvus orientalis, the 
white-tailed eagle, and Lagopus albus (partly wintering in the district) had 
of course long been present. Then migration stopped, and snowstorms began 
again until May 27. That day was fine, with only some 3°~6° eels, of frost, 
174785—21 13 



184 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

so that the snow melted in the hot sun, and on this and the following days 
geese, swan, ducks, gulls (Larus vcgae and (?) L. glaucescens) , and waders 
(especially Tringa maculata, T. subarquata, T. saJchalina, Phalaropus fuli- 
carius, and Charadrius fulvus) migrated in great numbers. At last, on May 
30, it rained, while the thermometer varied between 16° eels, above zero and 
as much below ; snow became scanty on the open places, and the first rosy gull 
was reported. On the morning of May 31 one of my men saw a pair, and 
during the day I went on the river, where the fathom-thick ice was still quite 
safe, and came across several dozens. The sun was shining brightly, and in 
the distance each pair appeared like so many roseate points on the bluish ice 
of the great stream. I say "pair," as from their first arrival the birds were 
constantly seen in pairs. They had evidently just finished their migration and 
were tired after their exertions, for they sat very quietly on the ice, and though 
all attempts to stalk them were unavailing, they would not fly far, but only 
shifted from place to place with a lazy and somewhat uneasy motion of their 
wings, which made me jot down in my notebook on the spur of the moment 
that the flight was more fulmar-like than gull-like. 

Courtship, — Although most of the birds seemed to be paired on 
their arrival, he noted some squabbles with unmated males and the 
following courtship performance: 

Every now and then the male tried to express his feelings to his mate by 
pecking her curiously, as if trying to kiss her, with his open beak on her head 
or neck, or made a few steps round her to one side or the other, showing off 
as some pigeons do ; then with a sound like trrrrrr lowered his neck and breast 
to the ground, and in this position, with all the hinder part of the body, the tail, 
and the ends of the folded wings high up in the air, continued for some seconds 
his little promenade before the female, who very rarely engaged in such antics. 

Nesting. — He 

found the rosy gull nesting in little colonies of from 2 or 3 to 10 or 15 
pairs, in company with the common black-capped tern of the delta, which, 
however, in nearly every case exceeds it in numbers. A pair or two of 
Totanus fuscus nearly always breed with them, and not unfrequently 
Colymbus arcticus and Fuligula glacialis, sometimes accompanied by the white- 
winged gull (Larus Glaucescens), and a pair or two of Squatarola helvetica. 
A little low island in a lake is usually selected for the breeding place, and 
this made the nests very difficult of access, as until the last days of June a 
boat can only be used near the banks and must be then dragged over the ice, 
which is exceedingly slippery and generally unsafe after June comes in, espe- 
cially near the islands, as I found to my cost. One of the colonies, however, 
was on a piece of wet tundra near two lakes, a square kilometer in extent, 
covered with a labyrinth of pools of snow water from 2 to 6 or even 10 inches 
deep, but practicable in wading boots, thanks to its floor of everlasting ice 
beneath the underlying mud. Between these pools, which were from 15 to 50 
feet in diameter, were pieces of very wet ground covered with Carices, damp 
mossy spots, and even tiny patches of comparatively dry bog covered with 
lichens or Betula nana. 

In this colony I found 10 nests of Rhodostethia, placed, among those of the 
tern, on little mossy swamps almost bare of grass, evidently because the more 
grassy places were too wet and unsafe. But in the remaining colonies the state 
of affairs was otherwise; there the tern nested on the moss (sometimes making 
no nest at all), and laid its one or two eggs much nearer to the dry parts of 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 185 

the little islands, which were perhaps a hundred yards long and from 10 to 20 
yards wide, while the rosy gulls made their nests on wet grassy spots or bogs 
much nearer to the water, and these nests rose from 4 to 10 inches, generally 
from 5 to 8 inches, above the surface. The hollow formed in the grass (dead 
grass, of course, as green grass is hardly seen even by the 20th of June) is about 
6 or 7 inches in diameter ; but the nest proper is a shallow cup only about 4 or 
4$ inches in diameter. It is composed of dry grass and Varices, sometimes with 
the addition of a few dry Betula or Saline leaves, while I once saw one made of 
white reindeer moss. The cup of the nest is from & to i inch, generally | inch 
thick. 

The eggs which he collected were taken between June 13 and 26, 
those taken on the latter date being nearly ready to hatch. 

Later on (July 6 and 7) he discovered two more colonies, which he 
describes as follows: 

Here we were clear of the Salix and Alnus thickets and were on the true 
tundra, which afforded a welcome relief to both eyes and limbs. After the 
delay caused by a long and heavy snowstorm I discovered two new breeding 
colonies of this gull — one on the wet grassy border of a lake about a kilometer 
in diameter, the other in the middle of a somewhat larger lake, furnished 
with many tiny islands, spacious bogs, and shallow grassy areas. Both colonies 
contained from 10 to 12 pairs of Rhodostethia, accompanied by five or six 
pairs of terns, considerable numbers of Limosa uropygialis, Phalaropus fuli- 
carius, P. lobatus, Tringa maculata, Pavoncella pugnax, Harelda glacialis, and 
a pair or two of Scolopax gallinula, Colymbus arcticus, Squatarola helvetica, 
Charadrius fulvus, and Totanus fuscus. 

Mr. John H. Dalgleish (1886) reports the finding of a nest of 
Ross's gull by Mr. Paul Muller near Christianshaab, Greenland, on 
June 15, 1885. The nest " was situated in the midst of the nests of 
a colony of Sterna macroura. The female bird was shot off the nest, 
which, when found, contained two eggs." 

Eggs. — There are four eggs of this species in the United States 
National Museum, which bear a decided resemblance to eggs of the 
Sabine's gull. They are pointed in shape and have a uniform ground 
color of " ecru-olive." They are rather faintly marked with irregular 
and indistinct spots and blotches of " Saccardo's umber." The 
measurements of 31 eggs, in various collections, average 43.6 by 32 
millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 46.6 by 
32.7, 43 by 34, 39 by 31.5, and 44.4 by 30.3 millimeters. 

Of the eggs Buturlin (1906) says: 

The rosy gull lays sometimes two, but nearly always three, eggs; four are 
said to be found not uncommonly, but I doubt the fact. The eggs, as might 
be expected from so beautiful a bird, are very handsome and, happily for the 
collector, are quite unlike those of the black-capped tern. 

The eggs of the rosy gull are not only larger and in particular broader than 
those of its neighbor, but are of quite a different shape, being extremely round 
for gulls' eggs, with the small end by no means pronounced. They are much 
darker and more evenly colored than any other eggs of the order known to 
me, being of a beautiful deep rich olive-green, without any of the grayish or 



186 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

sandy shade so common in eggs of Sterna and other members of the order. 
They are spotted, especially near the larger end, with chocolate-brown (not 
earthy brown), the somewhat clouded spots being generally some 3-5 mm. in 
diameter, and not so sharply defined on the dark ground color as is usual in 
gavian eggs. The spots are of unequal intensity, some darker, some paler, 
with every intergradation ; they can not be divided into two sharply defined 
groups as in other gavian eggs, perhaps because the dark markings do not 
stand out very clearly on the deep olive-green ground color. 

During the daytime even the female readily leaves the nest, and flies about 
the pools of water or walks over the melting ice, picking up insects and often 
slipping in a curious way on the surface. But in the night — the sunny 
Arctic night — the rosy gulls which mob you at some distance from the colony 
are invariably males. When an intruder visits the colony the gulls fly over- 
head and scream, but are far less noisy and anxious than the terns. If he sits 
down they very soon become quiet, and the female settles down on her eggs 
even within 30 or 40 yards, and so betrays their position. If the nest is 
approached both parents hover overhead persistently, but do not venture nearer 
than 15 or 25 yards, the male being usually silent, but the female screaming 
and uttering cries of various description — now the regular note of " kiaoo, 
kiaoo, kiaoo ; miaw, miaw, viaw, viaw ; trrrrr " ; now the true Larine " kwa, 
kwa, kwa," or even a ternlike " ee, ee, ee-kwa, lew," all with very varied in- 
tonation. When the nest has been passed some 20 or 30 paces the female 
settles down and looks to see if the eggs are still there. On one occasion only, 
after I had taken the eggs, did she pursue me angrily at close quarters, until 
I had left the colony; this was an intensely colored, and evidently a very old, 
bird. 

Young. — Young rosy gulls are very lively and clever little creatures. As soon 
as they see an intruder they try to creep through the grass to the water, and 
swim away to some distance, even if the waves are comparatively heavy. More 
readily still they swim to the places where tufts of Carex and other plants, old 
and dry, stand up here and there in the water, and then lie on the surface, 
quite still, close by one of these tufts, as if conscious that their grayish-marked 
dirty-yellow garb corresponds so closely with the spots and strips of light and 
shadow playing on the dirty-yellow dead grass as to be practically invisible 
even at a distance of a few yards, especially if the wind, which is nearly 
always blowing here, is ruffling the surface. If you lie well hidden, after 
several minutes the little creature begins to swim about, returning to the 
ground or wet grass whence you disturbed it, and uttering cries as it searches 
for its mother. When caught it pecks your fingers, peeps and quacks, but is not 
much frightened. 

The parents, especially the females, make a great noise around an intruder in 
the colony, varying their voices and notes even more than when there are eggs; 
" kliaw, kliaw, kliaw ; kwiaoo, a-wa, a-wa, a-wa, trrrrr . . . ; pioo, kwee- 
kwoo, a-dak, a-dak, a-dak; kliaw, kliaw. eea, eea; kwa-kwa-kwa, pee-kwa, 
kakee-a," are heard all the time in various modulations. Near its eggs the rosy 
gull might appear somewhat foolish, but now all is changed. The female flies 
slowly just above the ground or wet grass, or partly swims, partly flutters, 
over the surface of the plant-covered water, settles down again, looking here 
and there, gently uttering her " a-wa, a-wa," and makes you feel certain that 
she is trying her utmost to draw attention away from her young. But if you 
follow her, and then suddenly stop and look back, you will often see the little 
one hurrying from the place where you were just searching ; while in any case 
you will find nothing at the place where the female appeared so busy. One 



LIFE HISTORIES OF XOETH AMEEICAX GEXLS AXD TERNS. 187 

female insisted upon fluttering about and sitting down so long at a certain 
place on an island where the colony of rosy gulls and terns was situated that 
I carefully marked the spot and examined it, but only a tern's nest was there. 
I thought at first that this was only an accidental occurrence, but immediately 
afterwards the same female rosy gulL tried to attract my attention as per- 
sistently to another spot, lying still more out of my way, and another tern's 
nest was there. The terns understood these treacherous tactics quite well, 
and at the last nest the female with angry screams engaged in a short battle 
with the gull. 

Plumages. — The newly hatched gulls in down are some 13 or 13^ centimetres 
in length, but they grow quickly and measure from 18 to 20 centimetres by the 
time that the feathers appear on the back and flanks. Eyes dark blackish 
brown; legs and feet intense fleshy, tinged with gray, or fleshy gray, with 
brownish claws ; bill grayish fleshy with brownish tip. The ground color of 
the downy dress is dusty yellow, varying in tinge irrespective of growth; in 
some examples it is pale sulphur-yellow, in others a somewhat burnt wood- 
yellow, occasionally, with a rusty tinge. This ground color is densely covered 
with numerous irregular and ill-defined blackish-gray markings, taking up at 
least as much space as the yellow ground color itself. They are pale and quite 
ill-defined on the flanks, while the middle of the breast and belly is without 
them and whitish. They are sharply defined and nearly black on the head, 
where they are narrower. The markings vary in detail in different specimens, 
but in all the pattern is somewhat longitudinal on the body, transverse on the 
nape, and wedge shaped on the crown. This pattern is much obscured, especially 
on the body, as the markings are so much broken up and wavy. The sides of 
the throat, the eyebrows, and the down which covers the uppper mandible nearly 
to the nostrils, are marked with dark color. 

The feathers begin to appear first on the wings, and nearly at the same time 
on the scapulars and tail ; next on the upper part of back and on the flanks, 
and then on the uropygium. So far as can be seen the new primaries are 
blackish; the secondaries and tail feathers white; the tertiaries, wing coverts, 
scapulars, and back feathers brownish black, with wide rusty-yellow ends, as 
are also upper tail coverts. Flank feathers and those of the uropygium white 
rusty ends and blackish-gray subapical portions. 

The sequence of plumages to maturity can be only provisionally 
inferred from the limited amount of material available for study. 
Doctor Buturlin (1906) gives us a very satisfactory and detailed 
description of the first or juvenal plumage, the principal characters 
of which are : " White under parts, tinged on the chest and breast 
with pale grayish cinnamon buff; upper parts dark brown, barred 
with ochraceous on the ends of the feathers; lesser wing-coverts of 
the foremost and inner half of the wing white, with narrow, ochra- 
ceous tips : all the primary coverts blackish brown ; the three inner 
primaries practically blackish brown with the inner half of the inner 
web (excluding the end) white; remaining primaries outwardly 
edged with blackish brown, decreasing inwardly ; and tail white, with 
a narrow ochraceous tip and a blackish brown apical band." 

This plumage is well illustrated in Nansen's (1899) colored plate 
of this species, based on specimens collected by his expedition near 



188 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Franz Josef Land, in August. The white lesser wing-coverts show 
very plainly in this plate, but apparently these are molted before 
October, as they do not show at all in Nelson's (1887) plate. 

Nelson's bird, taken October 10 at St. Michael, illustrates the 
change into the first winter plumage, which differs from the fore- 
going in having the under parts pure white and having lost all traces 
of the white lesser wing-coverts, the ochraceous barring on the back 
and the ochraceous tip of the tail. Some of this may be accounted for 
by wear or fading, but the appearance of a few " mantle blue " feath- 
ers in the back indicates a partial molt, including, at least, the back 
and lesser wing-coverts. 

The young bird figured in P. H. Ray's (1885) report, a bird in its 
first autumn, is considerably more advanced, as it has a pink breast 
and a blue mantle, the wings being practically the same as in Nel- 
son's (1887) bird. This specimen illustrates the first winter plumage, 
which is worn with little change until spring. A partial molt, in- 
volving nearly, if not quite, all the contour feathers and the tail, 
takes place in the spring. This first nuptial plumage is illustrated 
by a bird in the author's collection, taken on the Kolyma River on 
June 2. In this the wings, including all the coverts, are as in the 
first winter plumage. The remainder of the plumage is fresh; the 
mantle is clear blue; the underparts are decidedly rosy; the tail is 
pure white ; and the black neck ring is indicated by scattering black 
feathers. At a complete postnuptial molt, the following summer, 
the young bird would probably assume the adult winter plumage. 

Adults apparently have a complete postnuptial molt and an in- 
complete prenuptial molt of the contour feathers. The black ring 
on the neck is characteristic of the nuptial plumage, but the pink 
underparts and the pure white tail are present at all seasons. 

Food. — Buturlin (1906) noted the Ross's gulls chasing insects, and 
the stomachs which he examined contained " only fragments of 
coleoptera, gnats, and other insects;" therefore, on their breeding 
grounds, at least, their food seems to be wholly insectivorous. 

Behavior. — Although he first noted the flight of this species as 
"more Fulmar-like," Buturlin (1906) finally concluded that it 

was really much more tern-like * * *. The rosy gull swims easily, and 
sometimes I saw it taking a regular bath. It clipped its head under, while 
sitting deep in the ice-cold lake, and, throwing the water over its back, moved 
its wings quickly below the surface, holding itself almost clear, and threw 
itself forcibly head downward into the water. Once a rosy gull flew over the 
surface of the lake with a cry of " carvac-wa " and took up water with its 
beak on the wing, as swallows do, but subsequently it settled on the surface for 
some two or three seconds without folding its wings, which were elevated over 
the back, and drank after the usual fashion. 

The note of Rhodostethia is peculiar, being high and more melodious than 
that of gulls in general, and very variable. The cries that I most often heard 



LIFE HISTOEIES OF NOKTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 189 

resembled " a-wo, a- wo, a-wo " and "claw, claw, claw" (or " cliaw, cliaw"). 
When disturbed the birds have a short cry of " via, via, via," and if much dis- 
appointed a longer " kiaw, kiaw " or " Maoo, kiaoo, viaw." When quarreling 
they utter " miaw, miaw, miaw " and " a-dac, a-dac, a-dac," as already men- 
tioned. 

The rosy gull can hardly be called a peaceful bird, though the terns, com- 
paratively weak as they are, generally begin the trouble, for it is quite pre- 
pared to fight, if challenged. Usually the tern distances its rival in the air, 
but I have seen the gull catch it on the wing and give it a good shake. I once 
saw a female rosy gull pounce ferociously on an innocent Calcarius lapponicus 
which was passing, but she was in a very nervous state owing to my examina- 
tion of her nest, which was going on. 

The rosy gull and its eggs are too small to be hunted up by the Lamuts or 
Chukchas of the delta, and rapacious birds proper are scarce there; but the 
eggs are often destroyed by the numerous Stercorarii, and I have to-day seen 
(June 30) two Buffon's skuas trying to catch the bird itself. 

Fall. — When Doctor Buturlin (1906) visited their breeding 
grounds on July 22 the Ross's gulls " were nowhere to be seen ; only 
some shells of their pretty eggs and a wing of a young bird were 
found near the nest of one of those greedy robbers of the tundra, 
Larus vegae." But he "observed three small gulls flying silently 
about with uneasy strokes of the wing, in a somewhat owl-like man- 
ner, and their silence reminded him of Xema sdbinii during the 
spring migration/' All of these he shot and they proved to be 
" young Rhodostethia rosea, easily identified by the form of the tail, 
and only one was without the remains of down on the head." These 
were the last rosy gulls that he saw alive; evidently they had de- 
serted their breeding grounds and started in their fall migration 
as soon as the young were able to fly. They sometimes move off their 
breeding grounds even before the young are able to fly ; for " on 
July 7, having disturbed a colony with the young in down, he " no- 
ticed a few hours later that the colony was deserted, and that, partly 
swimming, partly on foot, they had gone to the other end of the lake 
(or rather a chain of swampy lakes), nearly a mile distant." This 
exceedingly early northward migration in the half-downy stage of 
plumage explains why both young and old Rhodostethia rosea have 
been observed during August, or even seen after the middle of July, 
far away from their breeding grounds- 
Nelson (1887) took a specimen of this rare gull in immature plum- 
age near St. Michael, Alaska, on October 10, 1879. The Interna- 
tional Point Barrow Expedition in 1881, 1882, and 1883, under Lieut. 
P. H. Ray, obtained a fine series of this rare bird, and I quote from 
Mr. John Murdoch's notes in regard to it, in Ray's (1885) report, 
as follows: 

In 1881, from September 28 to October 22, there were days when they were 
exceedingly abundant in small flocks, generally moving toward the northeast, 
either flying over the sea or making short excursions inshore. Not a single one 



190 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

was seen during the spring migrations or in the summer, but two or three strag- 
glers were noticed early in September — a few out among the loose pack ice; 
and on September 21, 1882, they were again abundant, apparently almost all 
young birds. They appeared in large, loose flocks, coming in from the sea 
and from the southwest, all apparently traveling to the northeast. Most of the 
flocks whirled in at the mouth of our lagoon and circled around the station 
with a peculiarly graceful, wavering flight, and many were shot close to the 
house. A cold easterly wind was blowing at the time. They continued plenti- 
ful for several days, while the east wind blew, all following the same track, 
moving up the shore, and making short excursions inland at each of all beach 
lagoons. After September 28 they disappeared until October 6, when for several 
days there was a large flight. On October 9, in particular, there was a con- 
tinuous stream of them all day long moving up the shore a short distance from 
the beach, and occasionally swinging in over the land. None were seen to 
return. 

It is difficult to form any idea of what becomes of the thousands that pass 
Point Barrow to the northeast in the autumn. It is certain that they do not 
return along the shore as they went. Nevertheless, at that season of the year 
they must of necessity soon seek lower latitudes. Perhaps the most plausible 
supposition is that soon after leaving Point Barrow, perhaps when they first 
encounter the main ice pack, they turn and retrace their steps so far out at sea 
as to be unnoticed from the land, and pass the winter at the edge of the 
ice field, proceeding north to their breeding ground, as the pack travels north 
in the spring. Capt. Everett Smith, of the steam whaler Bowhead, who is a 
trustworthy witness, reports that when he was in the loose ice, 70 miles north- 
west of Point Hope, on June 10, 1883, he saw large numbers of these birds. 

Hansen's (1899) discovery of Ross's gulls in large numbers near 
Franz Josef Land in August, would seem to indicate that there are 
other breeding grounds farther west along the Siberian coast, or 
that there is a westward as well as an eastward migration after the 
breeding season. After August 23, when the channels and lanes 
about the ship froze up, these gulls disappeared. What becomes of 
these birds in winter, when it is impossible for them to obtain food 
in the Arctic Ocean, is a question which still remains to be answered. 
A specimen is recorded by Dr. B. W. Evermann (1913) as taken on 
St. George Island, Pribilof Islands, on May 25, 1911, which suggests 
the possibility that Ross's gull may winter in the open waters of the 
North Pacific Ocean; but, if so, it is strange that no specimens have 
been recorded from that region. 

I would refer the reader also to Mr. Murdoch's (1899) excellent 
historical account of this species, telling us practically all that was 
known about it at that time. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Probably circumpolar, but erratic and irregular. 
Known to have bred on the Arctic coast of northeastern Siberia 
(Kolyma Delta) and on the Indigirka River from its mouth to 300 
miles inland. Said to have bred once in western Greenland (Disco 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 191 

Bay), but the record is open to some doubt. Taken in summer, and 
perhaps was breeding near Spitzbergen (82° N.), Franz Josef Land 
(Hvidtenland) near the Bennett Islands, near Wr angel Island, in 
northeastern Siberia (Pitlekaj), and on Melville Peninsula (Alag- 
nak). 

Winter range. — Unknown. Taken at Bering Island, December 10 ; 
Heligoland, February 5; Faroe Islands, February 1; France (coast 
of Verdee), December 22; and Italy (Sardinian Sea), January. 

Spring migration. — Taken in the Pribilof Islands (St. George). 
May 25, probably a straggler. 

Fall migration. — Birds leave their breeding grounds in northeast- 
ern Siberia about July 20 and are abundant at Point Barrow, flying 
east, between September 10 and October 9. Taken at St. Michael, 
Alaska, October 10 ; at Heligoland, October 25 to November 10 ; and 
at New Siberia Islands in September. 

Casual records. — Accidental in England (Yorkshire), in France 
(Verdee, December 22, 1913), and in Italy (Cagliari Bay, January, 
1906). 

Egg dates. — Kolyma Delta: Three records, June 9, 10, and 11. 

XEMA SABINI (J. Sabine). 
SABINE'S GULL. 

HABITS. 

This beautiful little gull was named for its discoverer, Capt. 
Edward Sabine, who first saw it on its breeding grounds on some 
low rocky islands off the west coast of Greenland, where it was 
associated and breeding with a number of Arctic terns. It is not an 
abundant bird, however, on the Greenland coast, but it has been 
found breeding at widely scattered points in the Arctic regions of 
both hemispheres. Its center of abundance during the breeding 
season seems to be in the vicinity of Bering Sea. Dr. E. W. Nelson 
(1887) says: 

All the marshy coast districts on both shores of Bering Sea are chosen resorts 
for this beautiful gull during the breeding season. It is especially numerous 
along the Alaskan coast from the Kuskoquim mouth to Kotzebue Sound and 
on the Siberian side from Plover Bay to beyond the Straits, but they occur 
more as birds of passage along the latter coast than as summer residents. 

In the vicinity of St. Michael he 

found these birds to be among the most numerous of the gulls, and the main 
body of arrivals came in the spring, as the ponds and small tide creeks were 
nearly free from snow and ice, dating from the 15th to 25th of May. At this 
season they wander in company with the Arctic tern, but the last of May 
or 1st of June they congregate about the parts of the marshes selected for their 
nesting ground. 



192 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Nesting.— The same author gives the following interesting account 
of his experience with a nesting colony : 

On June 13, 1880, about 20 miles from St. Michael, while egging in company 
with some Eskimo, we found a pond, some 200 yards across, in the middle of 
which were two small islands. A gunshot caused at least 100 of these gulls to 
rise like a white cloud over the islet, and showed us that we had found a breed- 
ing place. As we stood on the shore a few birds came off, and circling close 
about us for a few moments, but rarely making any outcry, returned to the 
island, where the others had already settled again and appeared to be sitting 
upon the ground. The water of the lake we found to be about waist-deep, 
under which lay a solid bed of ice of unknown depth. 

The smallest island lay nearest, and sending one of my men out to it he 
found a set of two eggs of the black-throated loon, one set of the arctic tern's 
eggs, and two of Sabine's gull. Proceeding to the next island he found a set of 
Ay thy a marila nearctica eggs as he stepped ashore, and a moment later cried 
out that the ground was covered with gulls' eggs. At the same time he an- 
swered with chattering teeth that the water in the lake was very cold. Having 
never seen the nest of this gull I called my man back and he transported me 
upon his back to the island after narrowly escaping several falls on the way. 
The island was very low, and the driest spots were but little above the water. 
Built on the driest places were 27 nests, containing from one to three eggs each, 
and as many others just ready for occupancy. Four or five nests were fre- 
quently placed within two or three feet of each other. In about one-half the 
cases the eggs were laid upon a few grass blades the spot afforded with no alter- 
ation save a slight depression made by the bird's body. In the majority of 
the other nests a few grass blades and stems had been arranged circularly about 
the eggs, and in the remainder only enough material had been added to afford 
the merest apology for a nest. 

While I was securing my prizes the birds hovered overhead in great anxiety, 
although they rarely uttered their grating cry, and in the very few instances 
when a bird darted down at us it was in perfect silence. While we were on 
the island several glaucous gulls and jaegers passed by, and in every ease 
they were attacked by several of the Xemas and driven hastily away. Two 
nests had been despoiled either by these birds or a muskrat, as the broken 
shells showed. When the eggs were secured a large and fine lot of gulls were 
obtained, and we then made our way back to camp heavily laden with spoils. 
Solitary nests were afterwards found either on islands like the last or on the 
border of a pond. In one instance the female left her eggs when I was over 
100 yards away and flew directly away until she was lost to sight. 

Thirty-five years later Mr. Hersey visited the same locality to 
gather information for this work. On June 19, 1915, he found a 
colony of about six nests that had been completely washed out by a 
recent heavy storm accompanied by unusually high tides. The nests 
were all mere hollows in the wet ground with hardly any lining. 
Broken eggshells were lying all about and a few dead young were 
seen. In other places he found other similar nests containing broken 
eggs — about 15 in all. This disaster evidently discouraged the gulls, 
for, although he visited the locality later, they apparently did not 
attempt to lay again. A typical nest of this species containing three 
eggs was found on June 5, 1915 ; his notes describe it as located on a 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 36 




St. Michael, Alaska. 



F. S. Hersey 









St. Michael. Alaska. 



Sabine's Gull. 

For description see page 333. 



F. S. Hersey. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 193 

narrow tongue of land projecting into a small pond among a net- 
work of ponds on the tundra. The nest was a slight hollow in the 
wet ground, 5 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep, lined with a few 
dry grass stalks. The nest cavity was wet and the eggs were covered 
with a coating of mud. Both of the parent birds showed anxiety 
while he was some distance from the nest, but kept quiet when he was 
near it. After he had taken the eggs the birds followed him for 
half a mile, darting about his head. 

The Canadian Neptune Expedition to Hudson Bay, according to 
Rev. C. W. G. Eifrig (1905), found the Sabine's gull "common on 
Southampton and other islands, breeding there along the shores and 
the banks of small ponds, in company with the Arctic tern. They 
make no nest but deposit their eggs in the sand. Two eggs were 
taken at Southampton, June 28, 1904."' 

Eggs. — Three eggs, or often only two, constitute a full set. They 
are ovate or pointed ovate in shape. The ground color is " Dresden 
brown," " Isabella color," " ecru olive," or " deep olive-buff." They 
are seldom conspicuously marked, but are usually faintly and irregu- 
larly spotted and blotched with " Saccardo's umber " or " sepia." 
Sometimes they are more clearly and boldly marked with " sepia," 
"bister," or "warm sepia;" occasionally an egg is marked with a 
few bold markings of " blackish brown ;" and sometimes the markings 
are concentrated in a ring around the larger end. The measure- 
ments of 56 eggs, in the United States National Museum, average 
45.5 by 32 millimeters ; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 
49.5 by 31.5, 47 by 34, and 39.5 by 30 millimeters. 

Young. — Xothing seems to be known about the period of incuba- 
tion, but both birds apparently incubate and are very devoted in the 
care of the young. Mr. Hersey noted that when the birds were hiding 
in his vicinity the parents frequently alighted on the ground near 
him and ran back and forth with trailing wings after the manner of 
shore birds, but unlike other gulls or terns. 

The young are less active than most young gulls ; at the approach of danger 
they either sit perfectly still with half-closed eyes or march slowly away in 
the dignified manner of adult gulls. They have a note like the adults, but it 
is not so sharp and is lacking in strength. While in the downy stage they 
hide in the grass, but when about two weeks old and nearly fledged they begin 
to frequent the small ponds when they swim about; if danger threatens they 
swim ashore and hide. Even at this age the old birds watch them constantly, 
and any glaucous or short-billed gull that comes near is promptly driven away, 
several Sabine's gulls uniting in the pursuit to protect the helpless young. 

Plumages. — The downy young is dark colored, from " ochraceous 
tawny " to " tawny olive " on the upper parts and throat, paler on the 
chin, fading off to " pale pinkish buff " or paler on the belly. The 
crown and sides of the head are distinctly spotted or streaked with 



194 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

black and the rest of the upper parts are thickly but indistinctly 
mottled with " fuscous black " ; the under parts are immaculate. The 
young bird grows rapidly and the juvenal plumage soon appears; 
the down is retained on the tips of the feathers until the bird is 
nearly fully grown, wearing away or dropping off gradually, until 
the last of it finally disappears from the head, neck, flanks, and rump. 
In this plumage the crown and the sides of the head and neck are 
clouded or washed with different shades of " mouse gray " ; the throat 
and under parts are pure white, and the upper parts are mainly 
dusky or " fuscous." The feathers on the anterior gray portions are 
narrowly edged with pale buff; these edgings increase in breadth, 
extent, and intensity of color on the back, wing-coverts, and scapu- 
lars, becoming " clay color " or " tawny olive " on the latter feathers. 
The wings and tail are as described in the next plumage. The first 
winter plumage is but a continuation of the juvenal; the buffy edg- 
ings described above fade out or wear away during August and Sep- 
tember, leaving the plumage of the upper parts more uniform 
" fuscous " or pale grayish brown. The primaries are dull black 
without the conspicuous white tips of the adult wing, but the sec- 
ondaries are white, producing the large white wing patch so charac- 
teristic of the species. The tail is white, broadly tipped with black, 
especially on the central rectrices ; the bill is wholly dusky. A par- 
tial prenuptial molt takes place in the spring, at which the gray 
hood and black collar of the nuptial plumage are partially assumed, 
the amount of white remaining on the throat and head varying 
greatly in different individuals. At the next complete molt, the 
first postnuptial, in August and September, the adult winter plum- 
age is assumed, and young birds become indistinguishable from 
adults. 

Adults have a partial prenuptial molt, at which the gray hood 
and black collar are acquired before May, and a complete postnup- 
tial molt in August and September. The latter is very variable in 
time and often very late ; it is often completed in August and some- 
times does not begin until nearly the middle of September ; the black 
collar is the last to go. The winter plumage is similar to the spring 
dress except that the head is white, heavily clouded with dusky on 
the occiput, and hind neck ; the bill becomes black 

Food. — On their breeding grounds, the Sabine's gulls feed in the 
small ponds and pools on the tundra, where they find small fishes, 
aquatic worms, insects, and larvae, and small crustaceans. They 
hover over the pools, daintily picking up their food from the surface, 
but apparently never diving for it. Mr. Hersey says in his notes : 

These gulls spend much time, when the tide is out, feeding about the mud 
flats, where they run about like shore birds; so much do they resemble them 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 37 




St. Michael, Alaska. 



F. S. Hersey. 







•5«fe 






« 






m 






B8? 



St. Michael, Alaska. 



Sabine's Gull. 

For description see page 333. 



F. S. Hersey. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF 3T0RTH AMERICAS" GULLS AND TERNS. 195 

that I have repeatedly mistaken them for plover when the light was poor and 
I could not easily make out their markings. The young, with their white 
breasts and dark backs, even more closely resemble birds of this family. 

Behavior. — On the wing this species bears a closer resemblance to a tern 
than it does to the other gulls. It flies with continuous wing beats, seldom, so 
far as I have observed, sailing, and its flight is direct though not straight. 
It may swoop to the earth to pick up a bit of food or hover a moment if some- 
thing attracts its attention, but only for an instant does it delay before re- 
suming its onward flight in the direction it was going. It seems almost devoid 
of curiosity. I have never had one fly about me when walking over the tundra, 
as the short-billed gulls and Arctic terns frequently do, and unless I am directly 
i.i its path I have never seen one turn aside in its flight to look at me. If one 
of their own species or another bird is shot they pay no attention to the fallen 
comrade, even if it be only wounded. They attend strictly to their own business. 
They usually fly singly or with one or more short-billed gulls, but sometimes 
two are seen together, rarely three. Except on their breeding grounds they are 
not social and are generally silent. At St. Michael I have seen as many as six 
birds together on the bay, but on land they are usually solitary. When a 
number do come together on the water it appears to be the presence of food 
that attracts them rather than a desire for the society of their own or other 
species. When a half dozen birds are resting on the water it is usual to see 
them scattered about, each 30 or 100 yards from his nearest neighbor and not 
close together, as other gulls generally are. 

Doctor Nelson (1887) says of the notes of this species: 
Sabine's gull has a single harsh, grating, but not loud note, very similar to 
the grating cry of the Arctic tern, but somewhat harsher and shorter. When 
wounded and pursued or captured it utters the same note in a much higher 
and louder key, with such a grating file-like intensity that one feels like stop- 
ping his ears. It has the same peculiar clicking interruptions which are so 
characteristic of the cry of a small bat held in the hand. A low, chattering 
modification of this is heard at times as the birds gather about the border of a 
favorite pool, or float gracefully in company over the surface of some grassy 
bordered pond. The same note, in a higher key, serves as a note of alarm 
and curiosity as they cirele overhead or fly off when disturbed. When one of 
these gulls is brought down the others of its kind hover over it, but show less 
devotion than is usually exhibited by the terns. 

Fall.— Nelson (1887) says further: 

As August draws to a close, young and old forsake the marshes to a great 
extent, and the rest of the season are found scattered along the coast feeding 
at the water line on the beeches. Toward the end of September they become 
more and more scarce until only a comparatively small number are found at the 
beginning of October; but the last ones remain until the 8th or 10th of this 
month, and these birds are usually the young of the year. 

Winter. — On the southward migration the Sabine's gull has 
occurred on both coasts of North America, probably migrants from 
different breeding stations, and at many points in the interior. Prof. 
^Y. W. Cooke (1915) says that "the only place where Sabine's gull 
has been found in winter is on the coast of Peru. Here it is common 
in Callao Bay from December to April." He also suggests that 



196 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

" whenever the winter home of Ross's gull is discovered, Sabine's gull 
will probably be found there also, for the two species arrived to- 
gether at the mouth of the Kolyma River, Siberia, the 1st of June, 
1905, and were together when seen in migration in May several hun- 
dred miles west of that district." 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Arctic coasts of both hemispheres. In the West- 
ern Hemisphere, east to northeastern Greenland (Cape Bismarck). 
South to central western Greenland (Upernavik), northern Hudson 
Bay (Southampton Island), Boothia Peninsula, VictoriaLand (Cam- 
bridge Bay), northern Mackenzie (Franklin and Liverpool Bays), 
northern Alaska (Point Barrow and from Norton Sound to Hooper 
Bay), and St. Lawrence Island, Bering Sea. In the Eastern 
Hemisphere it is known to breed in northeastern Siberia (near 
Bering Strait), in northwestern Siberia (Taimyr Peninsula) and 
on Spitzbergen. The northernmost breeding record is at Thank 
God Harbor, northern Greenland, 81° 40' North. 

Winter range. — The only known winter range seems to be on the 
coast of Peru from Tumbez to Callao Bay. 

Spring migration. — Northward along both coasts and in the interior 
of North America. Dates of arrival : Maine, Scarborough, May 31 ; 
Cumberland Gulf, June 15 ; Melville Peninsula, Winter Island, June 
29 ; Ellesmere Land, Fort Conger, July 6 ; Illinois, Chicago, April 1 ; 
Manitoba, Norway House, June 11; California, Monterey, April 9 
to May 21; British Columbia, Bell Bella, May 24; Yukon, Chilkat 
Inlet, June 1 ; Alaska, St. Michael, May 7 to 25, Point Barrow, June 
2 to 6, and Demarcation Point, May 28. Some birds remain in 
Peru until April. 

Fall migration. — Southward by same routes. Dates of arrival: 
Maine, Portland, September 22; Massachusetts, August 21 to Sep- 
tember 27; New York, Long Island, October 7; Iowa, Burlington, 
October 12 to 15 ; Nebraska, September 2 to 30 ; Washington, Shoal- 
water Bay, September 24; California, Monterey, July 22. Dates of 
departure: Melville Peninsula, Igloolik, August 13; Greenland, 
Kikkerton Island, October 6; Alaska, Point Barrow, September 17 
to October 22 ; California, Monterey, October 28. 

Casual records. — Accidental in Bermuda, Switzerland, and Austria- 
Hungary. Occasional in winter in British Islands and northern 
France. 

Egg dates. — Northern Alaska: Eight records, May 28 to July 6; 
four records, June 8 to 28. Northern Mackenzie: Seven records, 
June 20 to July 10 ; four records, July 5 to 7. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 197 
GELOCHELIDON NILOTICA (Linnaeus). 
GULL-BILLED TERN. 
HABITS. 

This species was referred to by the earlier writers as the marsh 
tern, on account of its preference for the salt marshes as a feeding 
ground, and in many places as a breeding ground also ; but, based on 
my limited experience with it on the Atlantic coast, I should say 
that it hardly deserves that name, for, at the present time, on the 
coasts of Virginia and the Carolinas, it seems to prefer to nest on 
the sandy beaches. But, as it is a cosmopolitan species of wide dis- 
tribution, its habits differ in different localities. It was formerly 
much more abundant and more widely distributed on our Atlantic 
coast than it is to-day, where it is now one of the rarest of the 
terns. The reduction in its numbers and the restriction of its breed- 
ing range may have resulted, by natural selection, in the survival of 
those individuals which chose to breed on the beaches, where their 
eggs were not so easily found, and the annihilation of those which 
nested in the marshes. In support of this theory Mr. H. H. Bailey 
(1913) says of its breeding habits on the Virginia coast: 

The nest location of the few remaining pair has changed from the inner side 
of the island sand dunes and marsh edges to the open beach, but now well con- 
cealed amongst the oyster shells, rocks, and pebbles, not an unsimilar location 
from that of the oystercatcher. 

Doctor Stone (1908) regards it as " a rare straggler " on the New 
Jersey coast to-day. He says : 

Formerly it bred rather commonly on the marshes of Cape May County, 
where it was discovered by Wilson about 1813. In 1869 Turnbull regarded it as 
rare. In 1886 Mr. H. G. Parker reported it still nesting at the lower end of 
Seven Mile Beach, and Mr. C. S. Shick spoke of it as still present in 1890, 
associating with the laughing gulls. We have no subsequent record for the 
State. 

On the Virginia coast Doctor Rives (1890) referred to it as 
" common at Cobb's Island, and breeds, formerly in great abun- 
dance," indicating that, even at that date, it had begun to decrease. 
He says further: 

I have been informed that great numbers of the eggs have formerly been 
taken from the north end of Hog Island, adjoining Cobb's. 

Ten years later, in 1900, Captain Andrews reported to Mr. 
Dutcher (1901) that the gull-billed terns on Cobb's Island had. been 
reduced to about a thousand. The following year, according to the 
same authority, their number had been reduced to 300. In 1903, 
Doctor Chapman (1903) found only eight pairs there; and when 
Doctor Bishop and I visited Virginia in 1907 we saw only two pairs 



198 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

on Cobb's Island, and perhaps 8 or 10 pairs on Wreck Island, a few 
miles distant. Mr. A. B. Howell (1911) visited Cobb's Island in 1909 
and recorded eight pairs. This record shows clearly the results of 
the same causes which annihilated the least terns in this region — 
the demands of the millinery trade for the decoration of women's hats 
and the zeal with which a lucrative trade was pushed by local 
gunners. Apparently the few survivors are holding their ground 
and perhaps increasing under adequate protection. 

Spring. — From its winter quarters in Central and South America 
the gull-billed tern makes it spring migration along the coast in 
March and April. Audubon (1840) gives the following account of 
it: 

The marsh tern is pretty abundant about the salt marshes of the mouths 
of the Mississippi in the beginning of April; and by following the shores of 
the Gulf of Mexico you will find that it comes to us from beyond Texas, as 
many make their appearance along that coast in a straggling manner during 
spring, there being seldom more than half a dozen together, and generally 
only two. Their journeys are performed over the waters of the sea, a few 
hundred yards from the shore; and when in want of food they diverge from 
their ordinary course, and ranging over the land satisfy their hunger, when 
they resume their route. 

Wayne (1910) says that it arrives in South Carolina "about 
the middle of April and is sometimes common up to May 10, but 
does not breed. It does not frequent the salt marshes while on 
this coast, but prefers the sandy beaches." 

Courtship. — Audubon (1840) has given us the only account of 
what might be considered a nuptial flight. He says : 

Excepting the Cayenne tern, I know no American species that has so power- 
ful a flight as the present. To this power is added an elegant lightness that 
renders it most conspicuous and pleasing during the love season. Then " the 
happy pair " are seen to rise in elegant circling sweeps, almost in the manner 
of hawks, and only a few feet apart, until they attain a height of about 
200 yards, when they come close together, and then glide with extended 
pinions through the air, the male over the female, both emitting tender and 
plaintive notes, while they vary their evolutions at the same height for 
five or six minutes. After this the winged lovers separate, plunge toward the 
earth with wonderful rapidity, resume their ordinary notes, and seek for food 
in concert. 

Nesting. — On Cobb's Island and Wreck Island, Virginia, we found 
four nests on June 26 and 28, 1907. These were all placed on the 
high, dry sand flats, back of the beaches, beyond the reach of the 
ordinary tides, but where the spring tides had deposited large quan- 
tities of oyster, clam, and scallop shells, with numerous small stones 
scattered over the sand. These were excellent places for the conceal- 
ment of the eggs, which so closely resembled small spotted stones that 
it was very difficult to find them. The nests were quite character- 
istic and entirely different from other terns' nests; three of them 
were merely slight hollows in the sand, among the clam and oyster 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 38 




Cobb Island, Virginia. 



A. C. Bent. 




Cobb Island, Virginia. 



A. C. Bent. 



Gull-Billed Tern. 



For description see page 333. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 199 

shells, lined with a few small pieces of shells and bits of straw. The 
other was a very elaborate structure — a large pile of dead sedge 
stems, gathered from a neighboring marsh, and the shells of oysters, 
clams, and scallops. It was lined with small clam and oyster shells, 
making quite a pretty picture. I measured this nest and found it to 
be about 18 inches in diameter externally and 4 inches internally. 
All of these nests were in or near breeding colonies of black skim- 
mers, among which a few pairs of common terns were also nesting. 
Dr. Paul Bartsch writes to me as follows regarding a breeding 
colony of this species that he found in the Bahama Islands : 

On May 23, 1912, we visited Little Golden Key, which is listed as Middle High 
Key on the Andros Island chart. The northwest corner of this island consists 
of a sand spit, the edge of which has been worn off by strong tidal currents. 
Here we found a large flock of gull-billed and least terns. I crawled up to the 
edge of the sand bar from the rear and found myself face to face with them, 
almost too close to them to take a picture, but succeeded in capturing several 
snapshots, one of which I send to you herewith. On the northeast side of this 
same island we found the gull-billed terns breeding. I should say that the 
colony probably embraced 25 pairs. It seemed rather remarkable to find gull- 
billed terns assembled in a colony, for my experience heretofore had been to 
find them nesting scattered among colonies of the common tern; at least this 
has been the case wherever I have observed them breeding on our Atlantic 
coast. 

I have no recent information about its nesting habits in Texas, 
but Davie (1889) says: 

Dr. James C. Merrill and George B. Sennett found a colony of this species, 
in company with Sterna forsteri, breeding on a grassy island among lagoons 
and marshes near Fort Brown, Tex., May 16, 1877. The nests were slight 
depressions among the short grass, and the eggs were frequently wet. 

It also breeds on the sandy islands on the coast of Texas, depositing 
its eggs in slight hollows in the sand. 

Eggs. — The gull-billed tern raises but one brood in a season and 
lays ordinarily two or three eggs; sets of four eggs are occasionally 
laid, but they are uncommon. The eggs are characteristic and are 
easily recognized by their size and shape. In general appearance 
they are rounder and lighter colored than the eggs of any of the 
medium-sized terns. In shape they are usually ovate or short ovate, 
well rounded at the small end. The ground color varies from " warm 
buff " or " pinkish buff " in the darkest eggs to " cartridge buff " or 
"ivory yellow" in the lightest eggs; the prevailing colors are the 
lighter shades of buff. The markings consist of spots and blotches 
of various sizes and shapes scattered irregularly over the egg in 
varying amounts, but a majority of the eggs are not very heavily 
marked. The underlying spots show all five shades of "brownish 
drab," and the heavier markings are in various shades of the darker 
browns, such as "Vandyke brown," "bister," and "sepia." The 
measurements of 47 eggs in the United States National Museum 

174785—21 14 



200 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

average 47 by 34 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes 
measure 51 by 35.5, 49 by 36, 44 by 33.5, and 46 by 32.5 millimeters. 

Plumages. — The downy young is " pinkish buff " or " cream buff " 
on the upper parts, shading off to white on the breast and belly; some- 
times it is almost unspotted, but usually it is more or less mottled, 
streaked or spotted with black on the back and on the head. The 
juvenal plumage is acquired first on the wings, then on the scapulars, 
back and breast. This plumage is largely " pale gull gray " on the 
back, with a decided brownish suffusion, which is due to broad edg- 
ings of " snuff brown " and " clay color," deepest on the back and 
most extensive on the scapulars. These browns gradually fade out, 
before the bird is fully grown, to produce a soft mottled effect on 
the upper parts, pale buffy tints on a pale gray ground color. The 
partial post juvenal molt begins early in September, and the change 
into the first winter plumage is rapid. The mottled or dusky marked 
feathers of the upper parts are replaced by the "pale gull gray" 
feathers of the adult and the heads become whiter. The young bird 
in its first winter plumage is much like the winter adult, but can be 
recognized by its slightly smaller bill and by having more dusky 
streaks on the crown and cervix, as well as traces of dusky in the tail. 
I have not been able to trace the first prenuptial molt, but infer that 
it is complete, and that it probably produces a plumage indistinguish- 
able from the adult. I have not been able to find any spring birds 
showing any signs of immaturity. 

Adults probably have two complete molts each year, as in the 
other terns. They are in full nuptial plumage when they arrive in 
March ; the postnuptial molt occurs in August and September. The 
adult winter plumage is like the nuptial, except that the head is 
wholly white, with more or less slaty- gray in the orbital and auric- 
ular regions. 

Food. — All observers seem to agree that the gull-billed tern is 
mainly, if not wholly, insectivorous in its feeding habits. Wilson 
(1832) says: 

This new species I first met on the shores of Cape May, particularly over 
the salt marshes, and darting down after a kind of large black spider, plenty 
in such places. This spider can travel under water, as well as above, and 
during summer at least, seems to constitute the principal food of the present 
tern. In several which I opened the stomach was crammed with a mass of 
these spiders alone. These they frequently pick up from the pools as well as 
from the grass, dashing down on them in the manner of their tribe. 

Audubon's (1840) spirited drawing illustrates this species in pur- 
suit of an insect. He says: 

I believe that these birds never immerse themselves in the water, as other 
terns are wont to do; nor do I think that they procure fish, as, on examining 
a number of individuals, I never found any other food in their stomachs than 
insects of various kinds. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 




Cobb Island, Virginia. 



F. M. Chapman. 




Cobb Island, Virginia. 



H. K. Job. 



Gull-BillediTern. 

For description see page 3Z 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 201 

Gatke (1895) notes similar habits for the species in Heligoland, in 
the following words: 

Anyone who, day after day, has watched the terns darting down into the 
sea from great heights, so that the foam spurts high into the air must feel 
particularly surprised to see a bird so similar in appearance roving about over 
the fields, suddenly dropping among the long stalks of the potatoes and disap- 
pearing from sight. Such, however, is the only way in which the bird seeks 
its food on this island; for it has never been seen fishing on the sea like the 
other members of the genus. 

Yarrell (1871) credits it with eating other food to some extent, as 
follows : 

The food of this species is somewhat varied. In Ceylon Col. W. V. Legge 
found it to consist of frogs, crabs, and fish; in Egypt, Von Heuglin observed 
the bird darting into the dense smoke of a prairie fire in pursuit of locusts; 
and in Algeria Mr. Salvin noticed it hovering over grass fields and pouncing 
upon grasshoppers and beetles. It also captures many species of insects on 
the wing. 

Behavior. — The flight of the gull-billed tern is slightly heavier 
and steadier than that of the other small terns, but it is strong and 
at times very swift; it seems to have better command of itself on 
the wing. When traveling it usually flies at a considerable height 
with rapid wing beats and with steady and direct purpose. When 
in pursuit of its insect prey its plunges are exceedingly swift and 
daring. It shows also much of the skill of a swallow in making 
quick turns or in darting about with great velocity. It shows its 
command of its movements in its sudden plunges to the ground or 
to the surface of the water, where it secures its food, as it checks 
its descent, and darts away again, all of which is done with the 
grace and ease of an expert. I believe that it never dives and seldom 
swims, though, of course, it can do both. 

I know of no very distinctive field mark by which the gull-billed 
tern may be easily recognized, although its flight is characteristic, 
its tail is shorter and less deeply forked than that of the common 
tern, and, if near enough, its heavy black bill will identify it. 

The hoarse voice of this species and its characteristic notes will 
serve to identify it with certainty. On its breeding grounds its 
notes sounded to me like " Katydid, Katydid," or " Kadid," accented 
on the last syllable, or sometimes like "Killy" or " Killy-Kadid," 
all quickly uttered, loud, and rasping. Mr. Montague Chamberlain 
(1891) describes the notes "by the syllables Kay-wek, Kay-wekP 
Yarrell (1871) says: 

During the breeding season its note resembles the syllables che-ah, and, at 
other times it utters a laughing af, af, af, like a gull. 

Its behavior with relation to other species seems to be above re- 
proach. It associates freely on its breeding grounds with common 
terns, Forster's terns, laughing gulls, and black skimmers. Reports 



202 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

that it destroys the eggs of other birds seem to have no foundation 
in fact. Audubon (1840) says that he has seen "this species mas- 
tered and driven from its feeding grounds by the kingbirds and the 
martins," which would seem to indicate that it is a gentle bird and 
far from quarrelsome. 

Winter. — The winter home of the gull-billed tern is far beyond 
our borders in southern Mexico and South America. Very little 
seems to be known, or to have been published, regarding its winter 
habits. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — The American form breeds on the Atlantic and 
Gulf coasts, formerly from New Jersey, now from Virginia (North- 
ampton County) southward to southern Texas (Nueces and Cameron 
Counties) and Mexico (Tamaulipas). On the Bahama Islands 
(Andros, Eleuthera, Inagua, Long Island, etc.) and Cuba. Closely 
allied forms breed in other parts of the world, making the species 
cosmopolitan. 

Winter range. — Mainly in South America, southern Brazil, Argen- 
tina, Patagonia, and Chile. A few winter as far north as Guatemala 
(Chiapam), Mexico (Tehuantepec) and even Texas and Louisiana. 

Spring migration. — Early dates of arrival : Bahama Islands, May 
5 ; Bermuda, April 29 ; Virginia, Cobb's Island, May 10. 

Fall migration. — Southward along both coasts of South America, 
arriving in Argentina, September 18, and Ecuador in September. 
Recorded at Barbados, October 7. 

Casual records. — Stragglers have been taken at various points 
along the coast as far east as New Brunswick (Grand Manan, Au- 
gust, 1879). 

Egg dates. — Virginia : Forty records, June 2 to July 8 ; twenty 
records, June 12 to 26. Texas : Nineteen records, May 3 to June 10 ; 
ten records, May 6 to 28. 

STERNA CASPIA Pallas. 
CASPIAN TERN. 

HABITS. 

Among the vast hordes of sea birds nesting in the great colonies 
of the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts, this king of all the terns 
may be seen climbing into the air on its long, strong wings, its big 
red bill wide open, yelling out its loud raucous cry of defiance. As 
the dominant, ruling spirit in the colonies it scorns the companion- 
ship of humbler fowl, holds itself aloof, and lives a little apart from 
the others. The largest, the strongest and the fiercest of the terns, it 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAS' GULLS AXD TEEXS. 203 

well deserves the name, imperial tern. It was christened Caspian 
tern by Pallas, because it was first described from a specimen taken 
near the Caspian Sea. It is a cosmopolitan species of wide palae- 
arctic and nearctic distribution. 

Spring'. — Although resident throughout the year on our southern 
coasts, it is a summer visitor only to all of its northern breeding 
grounds. On the Xew England coast it occurs as a migrant to and 
from its summer home in Labrador. Mr. William Brewster (1879) 
evidently found it quite common here at one time, for he says: 

During the first week of May, 1875, I fonncl them quite numerous at Chatham, 
Massachusetts. They frequented the sand bars near the shore, and kept apart 
from the herring and black-backed gulls, the only other species of Laridae 
present at the time. 

I have always considered the species rare here during recent years, 
and it is by no means abundant in Labrador. Of its spring migra- 
tion in Minnesota Dr. P. L. Hatch (1892) says: " Usually, about the 
1st of May, or possibly a little earlier, the Caspian tern makes its 
appearance, and for only a short time is seen passing rapidly from 
lake to lake in search of its favorite food, the fresh-water mussels, 
with which the margins of the marshland streams and lakes abound. 
The flight is a marvel of gracefulness, ease, and unwearied main- 
tenance, never failing to arrest the attention of anyone at all inter- 
ested in the birds/' 

Nesting. — The breeding range of the Caspian tern in Xorth 
America includes a number of widely scattered localities, in which 
it nests under widely different conditions. 

Audubon (1840) was the first to record the breeding of this species 
on the south coast of Labrador. He evidently did not recognize the 
difference between this and the royal tern, for he referred to both 
under the name, Cayenne tern. On June 18, 1833, he " found it 
sitting on two eggs deposited in a nest neatly formed of moss and 
placed on the rocks, and this on a small island, in a bay more than 
12 miles from our harbor, which itself was at some distance from the 
open gulf. On another sequestered islet some were found amidst a 
number of nests of our common gull'' (ring-billed gull). TVe saw 
only a single Caspian tern on the south coast of Labrador, near 
Natashquan, in 1909: but Mr. M. Abbott Frazar (1887) found a 
colony ;; about 20 miles to the westward of Cape TVTiittle," consisting 
* ; of some 200 pair, mixed with a larger settlement of ring-billed and 
a few herring gulls. Their nests were built upon the groimd. and 
generally contained two eggs, never more." 

On the Virginia coast, according to Mr. H. H. Bailey (1913), "a 
few pairs still breed on one of our coastal islands." The Caspian tern 
was never abundant there, but one or two pairs have several times 



204 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

been found breeding there, laying two eggs in a hollow scooped in 
the sand. We did not see any Caspian terns in our visit to these 
islands in 1907. 

My only experience with the nesting habits of this fine species 
was in 1910, in the Breton Island reservation, off the coast of Louisi- 
ana. Here, on June 18, on Grand Cochere Island, a low, flat, sandy 
island, a hundred miles offshore, we found about 40 pairs of Caspian 
terns breeding. The island is more fully described under the royal 
tern, which was breeding here in immense numbers. The Caspian 
terns did not mingle with the large colonies of royal and Cabot's 
terns, but had selected the extreme eastern end of the island entirely 
apart from the others, where tLey had placed their nests in a 
fairly compact colony among the scattered rows of driftwood and 
rubbish, which offered some slight concealment. The nests were 
large, deep hollows, lined with sticks, coarse straws, bits of shell and 
other rubbish picked up in the vicinity; the rim of the nest was 
usually built up, more or less, elaborately like a gull's nest. The 
nests were almost always decorated with shells and often with 
feathers. Numerous pellets of fishbones, evidently <^ast up by the 
birds, were scattered about the nests. In marked contrast with the 
royal and Cabot's terns, the Caspian terns were very shy ; they left 
their nests long before we reached them and flew about overhead, 
screaming loudly. They never offered to attack us and barely came 
within gunshot. I was told by my boatmen that I could not shoot 
any, as they were very shy and extremely hard to kill. I succeeded, 
however, in bringing down four, all I wanted, with five shots from 
my heavy 10-bore gun. We found several other scattering pairs on 
the other islands in the reservation, among the colonies of other sea 
birds, but usually the Caspian terns nested singly and a little apart 
from the others. Larger colonies, containing from 75 to 200 birds, 
have been found on some of these islands. 

Mr. Stanley C. Arthur writes me that he found a colony of 119 
pairs of Caspian terns breeding on a small islet, about an acre in 
extent, near Alexander Island, on the Louisiana coast, on July 3, 
1918. The interior of the island was low and covered with marsh 
grass, but it was surrounded by a horseshoe-like rim of shells and 
sand, principally old oyster shells, on which the terns were nesting. 
Their nesting habits here were exceedingly primitive, for in no case 
did he find any evidence of nest building. Many eggs were merely 
lying on the shells; others were in slight depressions or hollows, 
which may have been made by the birds or may have been found 
already made. No nesting material had been brought in. The num- 
ber of eggs in a nest was never more than two and often only one. 



U. S NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 40 




Grand Cochere, Louisiana. 



A. C. Bent. 




Grand Cochere, Louisiana. 



A. C. Bent. 



Caspian Tern. 

For description see page 333. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 205 

On the Texas coast large colonies are found. Capt. B. F. Goss, 
in a letter to Major Bendire, says : 

We found the Caspian tern breeding only in Nueces Bay, and, although we 
examined 150 miles of coast, did not see a bird of this species more than a 
mile or two from the mouth of the bay. They breed on some small, low sandy 
islands near the middle of the bay. We took about 60 sets of eggs in all, mostly 
on one island not larger than 4 by 6 rods. As we approached this spot in a 
boat the birds rose about 8 feet and hovered a few moments, looking like a 
white cloud; then commenced circling, doubling, and turning in the most re- 
markable manner. It was a beautiful sight. As we approached they began 
plunging at the ground in great apparent excitement. My companion shouted, 
" They are breaking their eggs," and we hastened with all speed to the spot ; 
found about 40 sets, a few of one, but mostly of two eggs. These lay on the 
bare sand without any attempt at a nest. At least one-quarter of the eggs had 
been broken by the birds in their frantic plunges, some only marked, in others 
the bill had passed clear through the egg. My companion said they had done 
the same thing in former years when he was collecting the eggs for culinary 
purposes, and thought they did it to prevent the eggs falling into our hands. 
It seemed to me like a frantic attempt to remove or conceal the eggs, but will 
not attempt to account for the actions of the birds, but deem the fact worth re- 
cording. 

Some fine breeding colonies still exist in Michigan, of which Prof. 
W. B. Barrows (1912) writes: 

A few are seen, spring and fall, on Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan, and 
colonies of the birds have long been known to nest on certain islands belonging 
to Delta County, Michigan, lying in the entrance from Lake Michigan to Green 
Bay, and also on certain of the Beaver Islands, belonging to Charlevoix County, 
Michigan. At both these places the birds have been persecuted from time im- 
memorial by fishermen and Indians, who use their eggs as well as those of 
other terns and gulls for food ; and unless better protection is afforded, the ex- 
tinction of the colonies can not be long postponed. The nests are placed on 
gravelly or shingly islands, are usually pebble-lined, and the two or three 
eggs (rarely four) are very variable in ground color, ranging from grayish 
white to pale olive, and more or less thickly spotted with brown and black, the 
spots commonly small and distinct." Mr. C. A. Reed (1904) refers to a colony 
on Hat Island, Lake Michigan, found by Mr. Charles L. Cass, on July 1, 1896, 
where " fully a thousand terns " were " nesting on about one acre." They had 
built no nests, but the two eggs were " laid in a hollow in the gravel." 

A distinctly different style of nesting is found in the big colonies 
of the Klamath Lake region of Oregon. Messrs. Finley (1907) and 
Bohlman have illustrated these colonies very fully in the numerous 
excellent photographs which they have taken. In one case they 
found as many as 500 nests of Caspian terns in a single colony. Here 
these terns nest in closely grouped colonies often in proximity with 
other species, such as California gulls, Forster's terns, Farallon 
cormorants, and white pelicans, on the floating masses of dead tules. 
The nests are merely hollows in the dead and decaying vegetation, 



206 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

lined with small broken bits of the same material. The birds seem 
to be much tamer here than elsewhere. 

Eggs. — The Caspian tern raises but one brood in a season and lays 
from two to four eggs; two seems to be the commonest number, 
especially so in southern colonies ; three eggs are commoner in north- 
ern colonies, where this number seems to prevail ; four eggs are very 
rarely found. The eggs are distinctive and are more like gulls' 
eggs than other terns' eggs. In shape they are ovate or elliptical 
ovate. The shell is lusterless and sometimes rather rough. The 
ground color varies from "pinkish buff" or pale "warm buff" to 
very "light buff" or "cartridge buff." They are usually rather 
sparingly marked, sometimes evenly with small spots, sometimes with 
scattering large spots or irregular blotches, and occasionally with a 
few fantastic scrawls. The markings are in the darker shades of 
brown, " raw umber," " auburn," " mummy brown," or dark " sepia." 
The lighter types are often indistinctly spotted with "pale violet 
gray," or " lilac gray." The difference between these eggs and those 
of the royal tern is more easily seen than described. I think I could 
pick them out every time. The measurements of 48 eggs, in the 
United States National Museum and in the writer's collections, aver- 
age 64.5 by 45 millimeters; the four extremes measure 73 by 44.5, 
62.5 by 48, 58.5 by 45.5, and 64.5 by 42 millimeters. 

About 20 days is said to be the period of incubation. Probably 
both sexes incubate, as is commonly the case with related species. 
Perhaps under favorable conditions, when the sun is not too hot, 
the eggs may safely be left for a time to be kept warm by the sun ; 
the birds are sufficiently sensitive to changes in temperature to 
recognize such conditions. 

Young. — Mr. Arthur has sent me some very interesting notes on 
the behavior of young Caspian terns in the colony referred to above, 
from which I quote as follows : 

Before the motor boat reached the shore it was quite evident that there were 
a number of young on this island, as the noisy approach of our boat caused 
the little ones to take to the water and swim rapidly away. In their aquatic 
journey the young terns were followed by their perturbed parents, who hov- 
ered in the air uttering hoarse cries. I landed and discovered a few of the 
smaller terns hiding in the grass and a number of eggs scattered on the 
rim of the shell. The Caspian terns who had eggs on the island were the first 
to return, soon followed by those parent birds whose young had taken to the 
grass for the purpose of concealment. While it is true that the majority of 
the small Caspian terns had taken to the open gulf and the distracted parents 
still hovered over them, I noted with my glasses that they were now guiding 
their babies back to the oyster shells that the little ones called home. The 
larger of the small terns showed in no little way their adaptitude for swimming, 
for a number of them were from one-fourth to one-half mile away, and I 
could see them being tossed up and down upon the salt waters, as there was 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 41 




V 




* « 



4 







DC ? 
UU a. 

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£ I 
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* / M if iwi < : M -i 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN" GULLS AND TERNS. 207 

a good breeze blowing. They were stout little swimmers and soon paddled 
back to land. 

With the return of the main colony of Caspian terns I had exceptional oppor- 
tunities to watch the feeding of the young. The adult Caspians carry fish 
food to the island directly from the sea. The single fish was carried crosswise 
in the bill and seemed to be about from 2 to 3 inches in length. The fish are 
minnows of different species, and at no time did they seem' to swallow this 
food before allowing the young to have the food; that is, the parent bird 
did not first eat and partially digest the finny delicacies. The male (?) wings 
his way in from the adjacent waters with the fish crosswise in his bill. The 
moment he lands on the island there is a commotion among all the young 
terns. As a rule the rightful heir would seize the fish before it would leave 
the parent's bill and unhesitatingly get the fish by the head; then with one 
or two gulps it would disappear head first, and nine times out of ten if the fish 
was of considerable length, say about 3 or 4 inches, the youngster would keel 
over on its back, with its little red feet frantically waving in the air, the 
fish's tail also waving about (for the caudal fin and that end of the fish pro- 
truded about three-quarters of an inch), while the process of digestion started. 
However, this display on the part of the little tern lasted only about three 
or four minutes, and while the little fellow was lying on its back it displayed 
the writhings of a person suffering from suffocation; but once back on its 
feet the little Caspian would besiege the parent bird for more fish. 

The adult Caspian has a very decided note, and while I fully appreciate no 
bird's call or cry can be properly imitated by the printed word, to me they 
called " ca-arr, ca-arr, ca-arr, ca-arrrrrrrr." The young know the call of its 
parents. I was very much amused in watching a little fellow that had selected 
a slight hole within 2 feet of my blind to take a sun bath. Here it would lie as 
still as death until it would hear the particular " ca-arr " of its own ma or pa. 
Then it would suddenly come to life, and, opening wide its little red beak, 
would chirp loudly in reply and rush about waving its little wing stumps in a 
most grotesque manner. The parents would make a few circles above their 
little one and alight or fly off after seeing it was safe. An incident that would 
frequently happen in the afternoon was that a little fellow would seek its hole 
and lie still until the " ca-arr " cry which it knew best would again be heard, 
then it would suddenly be galvanized into instant action. The young, when 
frightened, utter a peculiar whistling note. 

Toward their own young the Caspian terns are very tender. However tender 
they are toward their own offspring they are extremely brutal toward the 
young of others, and I frequently saw the young ones mauled and flung about 
by the parent birds of other young. The young Caspians have no recreation 
save that of eating and sleeping. They do not flock together save when com- 
mon danger threatens. In fact, according to my observations, it is extremely 
dangerous for little Billy Caspian to play with a little Charlie Caspian next 
door, for as sure as he does Charlie's ma is quite likely to knock the visitor 
down and jump on him with black feet, to say nothing of the thrashing she 
gives with the elbows of her wings. Such treatment arouses the parents of 
little Billy Caspian, who rush to the rescue with hoarse cries and there is 
much ado in the ternnery, in which red bills and white wings play a prominent 
part, and black crests pointed straight out behind. 

Plumages. — The downy young varies on the upper parts from 
dark grayish buff or " vinaceous buff " to " cartridge buff " or pale 
grayish white. The throat is very pale dusky and the remainder of 



208 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

the under parts are white. There are sometimes no dark markings, 
but usually the upper parts are more or less heavily spotted or mot- 
tled with dusky. As the young bird grows the color on the upper 
parts fades to almost white. The first plumage appears on the 
scapulars and back. In the ju venal plumage the young Caspian tern 
is distinctively marked, differing from all other young terns in 
corresponding plumages. The most striking character is the black 
crown, which in all other terns is largely white ; in the young Caspian 
the entire upper half, or more, of the head is black, including the 
lores and cheeks, down to a line running from the commissure 
straight back to the occiput; the black is more or less relieved on the 
forehead and crown by whitish or grayish streaks. The feathers of 
the upper parts, back, scapulars, and wing- coverts are basally " light 
gull gray," but they are so broadly edged or tipped with pale buffy 
shades, " cartridge buff," or " tilleul buff," that they impart this 
color to the upper parts. The scapulars are broadly banded with 
black, two bands on each feather, and the feathers of the back and 
coverts are more or less barred or spotted with black. The under 
parts are white. 

When the young bird attains its full growth, a partial molt, in- 
volving most of the contour feathers, begins early in September. 
The feathers of the fore back are now heavily tipped with dusky, 
forming an interscapular dusky patch; the scapulars are variegated 
with hastate dusky markings and the tertials are doubly banded with 
dusky near the tips ; the rectrices are mottled with dusky near the 
tips, more so centrally and less so laterally; and the lesser wing 
coverts are mottled with dusky. This might be considered the first 
winter plumage though it is more properly a transition stage from 
the juvenal plumage for it soon disappears by wear, fading, or 
molt. Later in the fall young birds assume the pearl gray mantle 
and can be distinguished from adults only by the dusky in the 
lesser wing-coverts and the mottled tails. A complete molt in early 
spring renders old and young indistinguishable in March. Some 
birds retain the mottled crown until May. 

Adults have two complete molts — the prenuptial in February and 
March, producing the full nuptial plumage, and the postnuptial in 
August and September, producing the adult winter plumage with 
the white-streaked crown, the pearl gray mantle and wing-coverts, 
and the pure gray tail. Adults usually have white foreheads and 
more white in the crown than young birds; they also have larger 
bills. The postnuptial molt of adults begins before the end of the 
breeding season, sometimes as early as June, with the appearance of 
white feathers in the black crown. The outer primaries are molted 
last. 



U. S, NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 42 




Lower Klamath Lake, Oregon. 



W. L. Finley. 




Lower Klamath Lake, Oregon. 



Caspian Tern. 

For description see page 333. 



W. L. Finley. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 209 

Food. — The Caspian tern secures its main food supply, which con- 
sists almost wholly of small fish, by plunging headlong into the 
water, often disappearing entirely under the surface. It probably 
feeds to some extent on shrimps and other forms of surface swim- 
ming aquatic life. Dr. P. L. Hatch (1892) says that its favorite 
food is "the fresh-water mussels, with which the margins of the 
marshland streams and lakes abound,"" while on its spring migration 
in Minnesota. Several writers have stated that it feeds on the eggs 
and young of other birds, a gull-like trait not shared by the other 
terns. 

Behavior. — The flight of the Caspian tern is strong, swift, and 
graceful, but heavier and more gull-like than that of the smaller 
terns. Its general manner of flight is, however, decidedly tern-like, 
as it flies along in search of food, with its bill pointed downward, 
pausing to hover for an instant and then plunging vigorously down 
into the water. When fishing it usually flies only a few yards above 
the water, but when traveling it flies at a great height, with its bill 
pointing straight forward, making rapid progress, even against a 
strong wind. It has a broad expanse of wing, and is more given to 
soaring than the other terns. I have seen it soaring in great circles, 
mounting higher and higher in the air, as the gulls are wont to do. 
it so closely resembles the royal tern that the illustrious Audubon 
never detected the difference, but it can be recognized by its heavier, 
more stocky build, by its heavier flight, by its shorter and less 
deeply forked tail, and by the larger amount of black in the 
primaries, which look wholly black when seen from below, whereas 
those of the royal tern seem to be largely white or grayish. 

The cry of the Caspian tern is entirely unlike that of the royal 
tern and quite different from that of any of the Laridae. Its or- 
dinary note is a hoarse, croaking " kraaa " on a low key, loud, harsh, 
and grating. A shorter note sounding like " kow " or " kowk " is 
often heard on its breeding grounds, where it also utters, when 
angry, a loud, vehement, rasping cry of attack. 

On its southern breeding grounds, where it is usually larger and 
stronger than its associates, it has few enemies. It has been said to 
eat the eggs and young of other birds, but I have never seen any 
evidence of this habit, and I believe that it seldom, if ever, attacks 
them. Audubon (1840), however, saw some evidence of its pug- 
nacity on the Labrador coast. He says : 

Until that period I was not aware that any tern could master the Lestris 
Pomarinus, to which, however, I there saw the Cayenne tern give chase, 
driving it away from the islands on which it has its eggs. On such occasions 
I observed that the tern's power of flight greatly exceeded that of the jager; 
but the appearance of the great black-backed gull never failed to fill it with 



210 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

dismay, for, although of quicker flight, none of the terns dared to encounter 
that bird any more than they would venture to attack the frigate pelican in 
the Floridas. 

The Caspian tern has suffered but little from the hand of man ; it 
is too shy, too hard to kill and not sufficiently abundant to tempt the 
plumage hunter. Some of the northern colonies, particularly those 
in Lake Michigan, have been regularly and persistently robbed of 
their eggs for food until some of them have been materially reduced 
in numbers. 

Fall. — The Caspian terns leave their northern breeding grounds 
during the latter part of September or the first half of October. Dur- 
ing recent years they have been growing scarcer on the New England 
coast, probably because their numbers have been decreasing on their 
Labrador breeding grounds. They were evidently more regular in 
their appearance formerly, for Mr. Brewster (1879) wrote: 

They come down from their northern breeding-grounds during the latter part 
of September and for several weeks, at least, are to be found in moderate num- 
bers all along our seaboard. I have observed them at various points from 
Ipswich to Nantucket. At the latter place, upon one occasion, six individuals 
were seen fishing in the harbor near the town. As to their wintering within 
New England limits, I can offer only negative evidence, but that points to the 
inference that they pass farther south with the approach of severe weather. 

Winter. — The Caspian tern winters, more or less regularly, as far 
north as South Carolina, but it is more abundant in the Gulf of 
Mexico in winter. Messrs. Beyer, Allison, and Kopman (1906) say 
of its winter habits on the coast of Louisiana that " it occurs singly 
or in flocks of two or three, and associates freely with other gulls and 
terns, often congregating about the oyster and shrimp canneries. It 
never occurs far from the coast." 

On the California coast it seems to be rare in winter. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — In North America in widely scattered localities, 
mainly on the coasts or large lakes. East to southern Labrador (near 
Cape Whittle), Virginia (Northampton County), and South Caro- 
lina (Bulls Bay). South to the coast of Louisiana (numerous 
islands) and southern Texas (Cameron County). West to central 
California (Sutter Basin) and southern Oregon (Klamath Lakes). 
North to Great Slave Lake (Fort Rae), central Manitoba (Lakes 
Winnepegosis and Winnipeg), and Lake Michigan (Green Bay). 
Eastern Hemisphere birds have been separated as distinct sub- 
species. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reserva- 
tions: In Oregon, Klamath Lake and Malheur Lake; in Wisconsin, 
formerly Green Bay (Gravel Island, 1905 and earlier). 1 

*See Ward, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc, vol. 4, 1906, p. 113. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 211 

Winter range. — South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, from South Caro- 
lina to Texas and Mexico. Pacific coast, from San Francisco Bay to 
Lower California (La Paz) and western Mexico (Manzanillo). 

Spring migration.- — Early dates of arrival: Pennsylvania, Erie, 
April 26; New York, Canandaigua, April 28; Khode Island, Ocean 
View, May 10 ; Prince Edward Island, May 13 ; southern Labrador, 
Natashquan, May 31; Nebraska, Lincoln, May 2; Iowa, March 10; 
Michigan, Lake St. Clair, April 25; Wisconsin, Milwaukee, April 
10; California, Fresno, April 3 to May 6. 

Fall migration. — Transient dates: Massachusetts, September 6 to 
20; New York, Long Island, September 7 to 13; Pennsylvania, 
Marietta, September 21 ; Virginia, Four-Mile Eun, October 4; Michi- 
gan, Ann Arbor, September 5; Wisconsin, Delavan Lake, Septem- 
ber 19; Iowa, September 9 to October 15; California, Madera 
County, September 28 to October 2, and Stanislaus County, Septem- 
ber 4 to October 6. 

Casual records. — Recorded in summer east to Newfoundland (said 
to have bred at Sandy Lake in 1912) and north to the mouth of the 
Mackenzie River (Harrison Island, August 1, 1848). Taken in fall 
in Washington ( Westport, October 5, 1917) . 

Egg dates. — Lake Michigan: Twenty-eight records, May 25 to 
July 1: fourteen records, June 5 to 22. Texas: Fifteen records, 
April 8 to June 18; eight records, May 6 to 30. California: Eight 
records, May 20 to 25. 

STERNA MAXIMA Boddaert. 
EOYAL TEEN. 

HABITS. 

Although the royal tern is a splendid bird it seems to me that the 
name " royal," as well as the specific name maxima, should have been 
applied to its near relative, the Caspian tern, which is both larger 
and more aggressive, a real king among the terns. The two species 
so closely resemble each other that so good a naturalist as Audubon 
did not recognize them as distinct, confusing the two under the name, 
Cayenne tern. 

Throughout the southern portion of its range, from Florida and the 
Gulf of Mexico southward, the royal tern is resident throughout 
the year. Northward to Virginia it occurs as a summer resident 
only, and beyond that merely as a straggler. In former years 
royal terns bred abundantly on the coast of Virginia. Mr. Robert 
Ridgway (1880) in the summer of 1880 found and reported a breeding 
colony of some 500 nests, but in the persecution which followed dur- 
ing the next 20 years this species suffered with the other terns which 



212 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

were slaughtered for the millinery trade. On account of their large 
size royal terns were not in demand for ladies' hats, but their eggs, 
being large and palatable, were collected for food in great quanti- 
ties. Persistent nest robbing and constant shooting near their 
breeding grounds discouraged the birds and frightened them away. 
The reports of the wardens in 1901 and 1902 indicated that the 
colonies were much depleted until, in 1903, Capt. N. B. Rich stated, 
in Mr. Dutcher's (1903) report, that he "did not see any royal 
terns, so they probably have been exterminated so far as Virginia 
is concerned." During my visit to Cobb's Island in 1907 I did 
not see any royal terns, but was told by the fisherman that a few 
are seen occasionally. Since that time conditions have evidently 
improved under protection, for Mr. Harold H. Bailey (1913) says: 

The royal terns are much more numerous, a large colony still breeding on 
one of our coastal islands. They did, however, for a number of years during 
the overwhelming destruction of some of the following species for millinery 
trade, desert our coast entirely, but it has only been within the last few years 
that they have become established as breeding birds once more. 

Spring. — On its spring migration the royal tern, according to 
Bailey (1913), reaches Virginia "the last week in May," although, 
according to Coues (1877), it arrives in North Carolina "early in 
April." Its migration is so limited that its movements are prob- 
ably very deliberate and perhaps quite erratic or variable. I have 
never seen its courtship performance and can find nothing about it 
in print. 

Nesting. — An old-time colony on the Virginia coast is described by 
Ridgway (1880) as folio ws: 

Allowing the birds sufficient time to deposit their eggs, we visited the locality 
two days afterwards, and found an area of perhaps one-eighth of an acre com- 
pletely covered by their eggs, it being impossible to walk through the nesting 
site without crushing a greater or less number, many eggs having been covered 
by drifting sand. Comparatively few pairs had deposited their full comple- 
ment, a large majority of the nests containing but a single egg. Still, more 
than 500 nests were counted, while our man declared that not one-third the num- 
ber of birds seen by him on his former visit were there, the greater part having 
been frightened away by the shots which he had fired at them two days before. 

In Virginia, the bird is known as the "gannet striker" or 
" gannet." 

Mr. B. S. Bowdish (1910) and Mr. P. B. Philipp discovered four 
breeding colonies of royal terns on the coasts of the Carolinas in 
1909, as follows : 

The first was situated on Vessel Reef, a low sand key in Bulls Bay, South 
Carolina, visited on June 12. About 75 birds were seen there and nesting had 
just begun, three fresh eggs being found. The second colony was on Royal 
Shoal, Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Here, instead of the enormous numbers 
of the preceding season, estimated at some 7,000 birds, only 50 were found. On 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 43 



rr 







*£fera 




Grand Cochere, Louisiana 



A. C. Bent. 




Grand Cochere, Louisiana. 



A. C. Bent. 



Royal Tern. 



For description see page 3Z' 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 213 

June 24 one fresh egg was noted. The third and largest colony was found 
on June 26, on Miller Lump, a small, low sand bar in Pamlico Sound, 
lying in a broad expanse of very shallow water. This colony comprised 
1,000 adult birds. The nesting was advanced; some 258 good eggs were 
counted, usually one egg to a set, though a few doubles were found. There 
were also many young, some of which were able to run about. All the 
eggs were advanced in incubation. The fourth breeding colony visited was 
on Davis Lump, a small sand bar near Miller Lump. Here about 60 pairs 
of birds were breeding. Thirty-two eggs were counted, for the most part 
advanced in incubation. Half a dozen newly hatched young were also seen. 

My own experience with the nesting habits of the royal tern was 
gained in the large protected colonies of the Breton Island reserva- 
tion, off the coast of Louisiana, where the birds have certainly 
flourished during the recent years. They are now safe from the 
depredations of man, but they still suffer occasionally from the de- 
struction of their breeding colonies by the elements. The combina- 
tion of high winds or storms with a high course of tides often results 
in the flooding of the low sandy islands on which they breed and 
the washing away of the eggs or young ; but such wholsesale damage 
is generally repaired by a second attempt at nesting. 

On June 18, 1910, with Warden W. M. Sprinkle, in his patrol 
boat, I visited one of these colonies. Sailing due south from what 
seemed to be the outer islands, we headed straight out to sea and 
were soon out of sight of land. After several hours of apparently 
aimless sailing Captain Sprinkle pointed out on the horizon a distant 
sand bar, and as we drew nearer we could see with our glasses a 
cloud of white specks hovering over it, so we knew that the terns 
were nesting there as expected. They had been washed off one of 
the other islands earlier in the season and had come here to make 
their second attempt at nesting. The island, which is known as 
Grand Cochere, was merely a low, flat sand bar, with no vegetation 
on it whatever, only 2 or 3 feet above high-water mark at its 
highest part. It was nearly triangular in shape, perhaps half a 
mile long, and surrounded by dangerous sandy shoals. On an old 
wreck at one end 30 or 40 man-o'-war birds were perched in a long 
black row; a large flock of brown pelicans were resting on one of 
the sand bars; and at night thousands of black terns came in to 
roost on the beaches. There were several small nesting colonies 
of black skimmers, and three or four small mixed groups of royal 
and Cabot's terns, scattered over the island with their eggs lying 
in the dry, hot sand, as well as a few scattering pairs of laughing 
gulls and a little colonly of 40 nests of Caspian terns at the eastern 
end. But the main population of the island was concentrated in 
an immense, closely packed nesting colony of royal and Cabot's terns 
on the south side. As I approached this colony, over the level sandy 
plain on which it was spread out, the birds all arose at once, as if 



214 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

impelled by a common impulse, with a great roar of thousands of 
wings, a dense cloud of screaming birds, and a bewildering moving 
picture of flashing black and white. As the birds were shy my 
attempts at photography resulted in only a few distant snapshots 
of the colony as a whole ; so I set up my blind in the midst of ithe 
colony and left it overnight for the birds to get accustomed to it. 

On my return the next morning I was delighted to find that the 
terns had learned to regard my blind as harmless and had settled 
down on their nests all around it. Walking up to the blind, with 
two companions, I concealed myself inside of it with my cameras, 
and the other two men walked away. The birds, thinking that all 
of us had gone, immediately returned and assumed their regular 
vocations. For two or three hours I sat there unobserved and 
watched the activities of that populous colony. All around me the 
flat sandy plain was dotted with eggs, a single egg in each little 
hollow in the sand at regular distances, just far enough apart so that 
the birds could not touch each other when sitting. It was a hot, 
sunny day, probably too hot for the eggs to be left uncovered, so 
the birds spent most of their time incubating; but there were many 
birds standing beside their sitting mates. There was not sufficient 
difference between the sexes for me to determine whether both sexes 
incubate or not, but probably they relieve each other occasionally. 
There were no young in the colony, so I could not study their 
method of feeding them. Life is never dull in a large bird colony 
and the birds are never still; some were coming and some were 
going all the time ; there was a constant babel of voices and numerous 
little squabbles occurred, if an incoming bird alighted too near its 
neighbor. They were so close together that they could hardly spread 
their wings without interfering. An air of nervous excitement 
seemed to pervade the colony all the time, as in a crowd of women at 
an afternoon tea, and at frequent intervals, without any apparent 
cause, a large portion of the colony would rise suddenly and simul- 
taneously, as if frightened, fly around for a minute or two, all 
screaming excitedly, and then all would settle down again as if 
nothing had happened. 

I counted the nests in a measured area and then roughly measured 
the whole colony, from which I estimated that it contained, at least, 
3,500 nests. There were a hundred nests in a space four yards 
square; certainly this was a densely packed colony of a highly 
gregarious species. 

The colony described above may be considered as typical of the 
species, which almost always nests in similar situations in closely 
populated colonies. The nest is nothing more than a slight hollow 
in the sand, without any attempt at a lining. I believe that the 
normal set consists of two eggs ; very rarely three are found and four 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 44 




Grand Cochere, Louisiana. 



A. C. Bent. 




Louisiana. 



Royal Tern. 



A. M. Bailey. 



For description see page 334. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 215 

eggs have been recorded, though these were probably laid by two 
birds. Often only one egg is laid, and where the first set has been 
destroyed, only a single egg is laid for the second set. Two eggs are 
more often found in northern colonies, but in the southern portion 
of its range this tern usually, or at least frequently, lays only one 
egg for the first set. Only one brood is raised in a season, so far 
as I know. 

Eggs. — The eggs of the royal tern are usually quite characteristic 
and are not likely to be mistaken for anything else. They are quite 
different from those of the Caspian tern. In shape they vary from 
ovate to elongate ovate or even cylindrical ovate, but average about 
elongate ovate. The shell is smooth but without luster until it 
becomes worn by incubation. The common types have a very light 
ground color, practically white, varying from " light buff " or " ivory 
yellow " to pure dull white, Darker shades are rare, but I have a 
few in my collection which vary from " clay color " or " cinnamon 
buff " to " light buff." The greener types, " olive buff " or " yellowish 
glaucous," are still rarer. The eggs are usually quite evenly spotted 
with small, dark-colored spots, sometimes with fine dots and some- 
times with large, bold, heavy blotches ; very rarely they are marked 
with irregular scrawls. The markings include only the darkest 
shades of brown, " chestnut brown," " bister," or " clove brown," and 
often they are practically black. The spots have a washed-out 
appearance on the edges. On many eggs there are underlying spots 
of "lavender gray" or "pale violet gray," often in washed-out 
splashes. Sparingly spotted or even immaculate eggs are occasion- 
ally found. The measurements of 54 eggs, in the United States Na- 
tional Museum, average 63 by 44.5 milimeters ; the eggs showing the 
four extremes measure 74.5 by 48.5, 57.5 by 43, and 63.5 by 40.5 
millimeters. 

Plumages. — In a series of 10 downy young royal terns, in the 
author's collection, no two are alike, and there are, at least, three dis- 
tinct types of coloration. In the palest type the color of the upper 
parts varies from " light pinkish cinnamon " to " pale pinkish buff," 
which becomes paler on the throat and sides and almost white on the 
belly. Some specimens are nearly immaculate, but there are always 
o few small black-tipped filaments of down on the rump and often 
a few on the head. The character of the down is peculiar; on the 
head is rather stiff and hair-like, but on the back and flanks each 
filament stands out by itself, round and soft like chenille at the base 
and tapering to a' fine point at the end. The bill and feet are light 
yellowish flesh color in the dried skin. 

In the mottled type the color varies from "light pinkish cinna- 
mon " to " cartridge buff " above, shading off to the latter or to 
nearly white below. This is more or less heavily spotted with black, 

174785—21 15 



216 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

more or less evenly, over all the upper parts, including the sides of 
the head, throat, and flanks. The spots are very distinct and include 
either the tip or the whole of the filament. The bill is light colored, 
and the feet may be light colored, as in the preceding type, or gray- 
ish or nearly black. 

In the dusky type the ground colors are as described above, but 
they are largely, and sometimes almost wholly, concealed on the 
head, throat, back, wings, rump, and flanks with black or dusky fila- 
ments. Often the forehead and lores are solid black. The bill in 
this type has a subterminal black tip on one or both mandibles. The 
feet show both light and dark phases without any correlation with 
the other colors ; in fact, my darkest specimens have the lightest feet. 
A larger series would probably show a great variety of intermediates 
between these three types and perhaps other types. 

The juvenal plumage is fully acquired before the young bird is 
fully grown. It is entirely unlike that of the Caspian tern; the 
upper parts are mainly white with a faint creamy tinge, the feathers 
centrally tinged with light gray and with many narrow, dusky shaft- 
streaks; the primaries and secondaries are "slate gray" or lighter, 
edged with white and the tail feathers are chiefly dusky, with white 
tips and white toward base of inner web; the underparts are pure 
white ; the feathers of the crown have narrow, blackish shaft-streaks, 
becoming broader on the nape and auriculars, forming a dusky collar. 
This plumage is worn until about the last of August, when the post- 
juvenal molt begins. The wings and tail are retained and will 
serve to distinguish the young bird, but otherwise the first winter 
plumage is the same as the adult, the contour feathers being molted 
during the fall. A complete prenuptial molt occurs in March, at 
which the adult nuptial plumage is apparently assumed, but perhaps 
young birds do not acquire such a completely black p ileum as adults. 
Adults have two complete molts, the prenuptial in March or 
earlier and the postnuptial mainly in August and September, but 
often prolonged into October or even November, the outer primaries 
being molted last. The prenuptial molt, which produces the clear 
black p ileum, is usually but not always soon followed by a partial 
molt on the head, which produces the white forehead, more or less 
variable in extent. The full black pileum seems to be the courtship 
plumage, and the white forehead the prevailing nesting plumage. 
Only a very small percentage of incubating birds have the pileum 
wholly black. In the adult winter plumage the forehead is white, the 
crown mainly so, but streaked with black, and only the occipital crest 
is mainly black. The tail is shorter and more tinged with gray than 
in spring. 

Food. — The food of the royal tern consists almost wholly of small 
fish, up to 4 inches in length, which it catches by plunging down into 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 45 




Louisiana 



S. C. Arthur. 



^■•teags 



5?%W 




W^M •*%* 






jlf^ 






^: 



Louisiana 



Royal Tern. 

For description see page 334 



S. C. Arthur. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 217 

the water, in much the same way as the smaller terns. Mr. Philip H. 
Gosse (1847) thus describes the process: 

High above the water we discern a bird, the snowy whiteness of whose 
plumage contrasts with the blue sky. He flies rapidly round and round in a 
large circle, quickly flapping his wings without intermission. Suddenly he 
arrests his flight, flutters his wings in rapid vibration, as he looks downwards, 
but in a moment proceeds as before. It was doubtless a fish near the .surface, 
but which disappeared before he could descend. Presently he again stops 
short, flutters; then bringing the elbow of the wings to a right angle, descends 
perpendicularly, but with a singular turning of the body, so as to present now 
the back, now the belly, alternately, to the observer; not, however, by a rota- 
tion, but irregularly, and as if by jerks. But his purpose is again frustrated ; 
for on nearly reaching the surface he recovers himself with a graceful sweep 
and remounts on flagging wing. Again he circles, and again, and again stops ; 
at length, down he swoops, disappears with a splash, and in a moment breaks, 
struggling, from the wave, and, as if to rise burdened with prey were difficult, 
flags heavily near the surface, and circling slowly round, gradually regains his 
former altitude. 

Audubon (1840) says: 

They alight on the banks of raccoon oysters, so abundant in the inlets, and 
are seen in company with the semipalmated snipe and the American oyster- 
catcher, searching for food like these birds, and devouring crabs and such 
fishes as are confined in small shallow pools. These they catch with considerable 
agility, in a manner not employed by any of our other terns. 

Mr. A. W. Anthony (1906) says that they feed on herring " swim- 
ming in compact flocks near the surface," and " secure them by ap- 
proaching the school from behind and flying near the surface of the 
water, making repeated, quick dips into the school." They also eat 
shrimps. 

Behavior. — The flight of the royal tern is much like that of the 
common tern, but somewhat less bouyant, as might be expected in a 
larger and heavier bird. On the wing it is lighter in appearance 
than the Caspian tern, as it is more slender, and it has a longer and 
more deeply forked tail, with less black in the outer end of the wing. 
Audubon (1840) says: 

When traveling, these birds generally proceed in lines; and it requires the 
power of a strong gale to force them back, or even to impede their progress, 
for they beat to windward with remarkable vigor, rising, falling, and tacking 
to right and left, so as to seize every possible opportunity of making their 
way. In calm and pleasant weather they pass at a great height, with strong 
unremitted flappings. 

Though webfooted and perfectly capable of swimming, these and 
other terns seldom alight on the water and are very poor swimmers. 
Their feet are rather small and weak, as they depend almost en- 
tirely on their long wings for locomotion. 

The voice of the royal tern is not so loud and raucous as that of 
the Caspian and is pitched on a higher key. The note most often 
heard, when disturbed on its breeding grounds, is a loud penetrating 



218 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

squawking cry, audible for a long distance, like the syllables, " quak," 
" kak," or " kowk." Another note on a lower key sounds like the 
bleating cry of a sheep. It also has a very musical, rolling call, a 
soft liquid whistle, " tourrrreee," suggestive of the melodious rolling 
whistle of the upland plover. 

This highly gregarious species is a sociable and harmless neighbor 
on its breeding grounds, where it is intimately associated with 
Cabot's terns, black skimmers, and laughing gulls, which it ap- 
parently never molests. Its nests are preyed upon to some extent by 
the laughing gulls, though I believe that the royal tern is more than 
a match for the gull, as a rule. The royal tern is frequently seen 
fishing in company with the brown pelican, which it is said to rob 
occasionally by seizing the fish from its capacious pouch. The robber 
often pays the penalty for his crime by giving up his ill-gotten booty 
to the man-of-war bird, that arch robber of the southern seas, ever 
ready to pounce upon any bird weaker than itself and make it drop 
its catch. 

Fall. — In September the short migration flight begins, which is 
hardly more than a withdrawal from the northern portions of its 
breeding range, though its winter Wanderings carry it to the 
Bahamas and the West Indies. The southward movement is de- 
liberate. It leaves the coast of Virginia about the middle of Sep- 
tember and lingers on the coasts of the Carolinas until the end of 
November. In its winter quarters, from Florida and the Gulf States 
southward, it prefers to frequent the harbors, estuaries, mouths of 
rivers, and the vicinity of sand shoals, where it may be seen fishing in 
company with brown pelicans, man-o-war birds, laughing gulls, and 
other terns, or perched on convenient spar buoys, or resting and doz- 
ing on the warm bare sand bars. It also roams inland to some extent 
in winter, visiting fresh water lakes and ponds. It is common along 
the Pacific coast in winter from Monterey Bay southward, in the 
harbors and about the islands, as well as in some of the lakes near 
the coast. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, from Virginia 
(Northampton County) to southern Texas (Cameron County) . Some 
of the Bahamas (Berry and Kagged Islands, etc.) ; and many of the 
West Indies (Isle of Pines, Porto Rico, Dominica, Grenada, Carria- 
cou, etc.). Pacific coast of Lower California (Natividad Island) and 
Mexico (Isabella Island). 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservations : 
In Louisiana, Breton Island, Shell Keys, and Tern Islands. 

Winter range. — From central Florida (Micco) and from the coast 
of Louisiana southward, including the Bahamas and West Indies, 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 219 

along the east coasts of Central and South America to Patagonia. 
On the Pacific coast, from central California (San Francisco Bay) 
southward to Peru. Also on the west coast of Africa, from Gibraltar 
to Angola. 

Spring migration. — First arrivals reach North Carolina early in 
April, and Virginia during the last week in May. 

Fall migration. — Last birds leave Virginia about the middle of 
September, but they linger in North Carolina until late in November. 

Casual records. — Stragglers in summer wander northward along 
the Atlantic coast, sometimes as far as Massachusetts (Nantucket 
Island, July 1,1874). 

Egg dates. — North and South Carolina: Thirty records, May 15 
to June 28; fifteen records, June 20 to 26. Texas: Sixteen records, 
April 8 to June 18; eight records, May 13 to 20. Mississippi and 
Louisiana : Eight records, May 18 to June 19 ; four records, May 
19 to 29. 

STERNA ELEGANS Gambel. 

ELEGANT TERN. 

HABITS. 

This beautiful tern well deserves its name, for in color, form, and 
behavior it is certainly one of the most elegant of our sea birds, the 
most exquisite member of the charming group of "sea swallows." 
Unfortunately, owing to its remote habitat, it has been seen in life 
by very few ornithologists. Many handsome specimens have found 
their way into collections, but the dried skin can give but a faint 
impression of the grace and beauty of the living bird. Not all of 
the few collectors who have explored the coasts of the peninsula of 
Lower California have succeeded in finding it, and still fewer have 
seen it on its breeding grounds. Consequently very little is known 
of its life history and habits. Probably Mr. Wilmot W. Brown, jr., 
has been more successful than anyone else in the pursuit of this rare 
species, and we are indebted to him for practically all that we know 
in regard to its nesting habits. 

Nesting. — Mr. Brown obtained a fine series of the eggs of this 
species for Col. John E. Thayer (1911a), who published a brief 
account of its nesting habits on Cerralvo Island, Lower California. 
He says : 

The nests were slight depressions in the sand on the beach about 20 yards 
from the surf on the protected or land side of the island. 

The eggs "were taken April 9 and 15, 1910. Most of the eggs 
were slightly incubated. One egg is generally what they lay, some- 
times two, but only rarely." 



220 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Eggs. — Mr. Thayer's beautiful series of 18 sets, of one egg each, 
makes an attractive display of striking variations. The eggs suggest 
those of the Cabot's tern rather than those of the royal tern. They 
vary in shape from ovate to elongate ovate. The ground color is very 
light, varying from " pinkish buff " or pale " pinkish buff " to pure 
white, with a decided tendency toward the latter. The commoner 
types are spotted like eggs of the royal tern, but more sparingly. 
Some are very heavily and boldly marked with great irregular 
blotches of various shades of the darker browns, often almost black. 
These dark markings frequently have the appearance of having been 
washed out on the edges. One pink egg is uniformly covered with 
small spots of very dark brown and pale shades of "violet gray." 

Another pink egg is blotched with "pale violet gray," overlaid 
with large handsome blotches of "chestnut," "chocolate brown," 
and "chestnut brown" — a beautiful egg. The measurements of 
27 eggs, in various collections, average 53.5 by 38 millimeters; the 
eggs showing the four extremes, measure 57 by 39, 55 by 40.5, and 
51 by 35.5 millimeters. 

Plumages. — As I have never seen a specimen of the downy young 
or any birds in the immature plumages, I can not say much in regard 
to the sequence of plumages to maturity, but it seems reasonable to 
assume that all the plumage changes are similar to those of the 
closely related royal tern. 

Behavior. — I have never seen the elegant tern in life and can 
not find anything in print regarding its habits, but probably its 
behavior is not very different from that of the royal tern, which it 
so closely resembles in appearance. 

Fall. — The elegant tern is another one of the Lower California 
species, which has adopted the peculiar habit of migrating northward 
at the close of the breeding season, wandering occasionally as far as 
Monterey or San Francisco. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — So far as known only in the Gulf of California, 
Mexico (San Pedro Martir, and Cerralvo Islands, and near Guay- 
mas). 

Winter range. — From central California (San Francisco Bay) 
southward along the coast to Chile (Coquimbo Bay, Yaldivia, and 
near Valparaiso). 

Spring migration. — Returns to its breeding range in March and 
April. Lower California, La Paz, April 12 to 27. 

Fall migration. — Southward to Peru (Callao Bay) in September. 
Northward to California at about the same time : San Francisco Bay, 
September IT; Monterey Bay, September 22 to October 29; Point 
Pinos, September and October. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 46 




Ijim i Mtf'jfW , i«i a ! 






"*'. " ; . 



Grand Cochere, Louisiana. 



A. C. Bent. 






Grand Cochere, Louisiana. 



A. C. Bent. 



Cabot's Tern. 

For description see page 334 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 221 

Casual records. — Accidental in Texas (Corpus Christi). 
Egg dates. — Gulf of California : Seven records, April 1 to May 1 ; 
four records, April 9 to May 1. 

STERNA SANDVICENSIS ACUFLAVIDA Cabot. 

CABOT'S TERN. 

HABITS. 

Among the sandy islands and shoals of our southern Atlantic and 
Gulf coasts we find this fine tern, everywhere intimately associated 
with its larger relative, the royal tern; like Damon and Pythias, they 
are always together and seldom is one found without the other. The 
same resorts seem to be congenial to both, but there is probably some 
stronger bond of friendship which we do not understand. Our 
American bird is only subspecifically distinct from the Sandwich 
or Boy's tern of the Eastern Hemisphere, differing from it in the 
color pattern of the primaries. This makes the species cosmopolitan 
and gives it a wide range. The European bird ranges farther north 
in summer than ours, which may be due to the difference in climate. 

What little evidence we have on the subject seems to indicate that 
this species has extended, and is perhaps still extending, its breeding 
range northward along our Atlantic coast. This, if it is a fact, is 
both interesting and remarkable when compared with the histories 
of other species, nearly all of which have been reduced in numbers 
and restricted in range. In Audubon's time, Cabot's tern was not 
supposed to breed north of Florida. Royal Shoal Island, in Pamlico 
Sound, North Carolina, had been protected and watched carefully, 
as a sea-bird breeding resort, for five years before Mr. T. Gilbert 
Pearson (1908) discovered the first breeding colony, over 20 pairs, 
of Cabot's terns on this island on June 25, 1907. Mr. Pearson says, 
in reporting the incident: 

This bird has not previously been noticed breeding among the protected colo- 
nies in the State, and in fact, so far as I am aware, there have been no records 
of its occurrence in North Carolina, except one reported by Dr. Louis B. Bishop 
(MS.), from Pea Island, August 22, 1904. 

Since that time I believe that Cabot's tern has bred regularly on the 
North Carolina coast and in larger numbers. And now comes the 
latest news from Mr. Harold H. Bailey (1913), telling of the exten- 
sion of its breeding range into Virginia. He says : 

This is an extremely rare bird on our coast, and it was not until the summer 
of 1912 that a set of two eggs of this species was secured from one of our 
coastal islands. As there has been a small colony of these birds breeding on 
the North Carolina coast for the last few years, the birds with us are prob- 
ably stragglers from that colony. 



222 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Spring. — North of Florida this species is only a summer resident, 
the northward migration starting in Florida about the 1st of May. 
It is rather a late breeder. Even on the Gulf coast egg laying does 
not begin until the last of May, and farther north it is two or three 
weeks later. 

Nesting. — The only breeding colony of this species that I have ever 
seen was on Grand Cochere Island, in the Breton Island reservation. 
This was a low, flat sandy island, hardly more than a sand bar, 114 
miles offshore, south of Pass Christian, Mississippi. I have given 
a fuller description of it under the royal tern. When I visited this 
island on June 18 and 19, 1910, I estimated that its bird population 
consisted of about 7,000 royal terns, 2,000 Cabot's terns, 600 black 
skimmers, 80 Caspian terns, and 20 laughing gulls. These estimates 
were arrived at by counting the nests in a measured area and then 
roughly measuring the total area occupied by the colonies. 

There were several small mixed colonies of royal and Cabot's 
terns, but the bulk of the population was concentrated in one vast 
colony of approximately 3,500 nests. In this and in the smaller 
colonies the Cabot's terns were grouped together in certain sections 
by themselves, though not in any way separated from the general 
continuity of the colony ; but their nests were seldom, if ever, scat- 
tered singly among the royal terns. The nests of both species were 
evenly spread out over a level, sandy plain, above the ordinary high- 
tide mark, in the central portion of the island, which was entirely 
devoid of vegetation — a hot, dry waste of sand. They were appar- 
ently placed at measured distances, just far enough apart for each 
sitting bird to be beyond the reach of its neighbor ; probably the dis- 
tances were actually measured by the birds when the eggs were laid, 
each bird choosing a spot as close to its neighbor as seemed safe from 
the jabs of a long, sharp bill. The nests were hardly worthy of the 
name, for they were never more than slight hollows in the sand, with 
no attempt at lining whatever, and often the eggs seemed to have 
been dropped on the smooth, flat sand without even a pretense at a 
hollow. Nearly all of the nests held one egg each, but a few held 
two. This colony had been washed off another island earlier in the 
season and had come here for a second attempt at nesting. Captain 
Sprinkle told me that both of these terns usually lay two eggs at the 
first laying and only one at the second. The Cabot's terns in this 
colony were very tame, even tamer than the royal terns. After they 
became accustomed to my presence I had no difficulty in photograph- 
ing them at short range without the use of a blind. I was disap- 
pointed to find no young in the colony, which would have given me 
an opportunity to study their home life even better. 

From what I can learn from the writings of others this colony 
was fairly typical of the species and descriptions of other breeding 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 47 




LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 223 

colonies, all of which seem to be on low sandy islands on the sea- 
coast, would be useless repetitions. On the other side of the At- 
lantic, however, the nesting habits of the species may differ, as 
several writers speak of nests among the beach grass and nests lined 
with dry grass. References to such nesting habits by American 
writers are probably based on the statements of foreign writers. 

Mr. W. E. D. Scott (1888) took some young birds on September 
20, 1886, " not quite fully grown, indicating that probably more 
than one brood is raised, and showing how late in the summer the 
last broods are hatched out." If this species raises two broods it is 
a notable exception to the rule among the terns ; probably Mr. Scott's 
birds were hatched out late in the season, because earlier attempts 
were frustrated by storms or other destructive agencies. Cabot's 
tern has been said to lay as many as three or four eggs to a set, but 
I believe that such large numbers are exceedingly rare, on this side 
of the Atlantic at least. Two eggs seem to be the normal number, 
with occasionally three. One egg to a nest is the rule on second and 
subsequent layings. 

Mr. Stanley C. Arthur writes me regarding his observations on 
this species : 

There was very little opportunity given me at this time to study the Cabot 
tern and its young, as what little ones were there were absolutely in the 
downy stage and evidently too young to eat, for at no time did I see a young 
Cabot being fed by its parent. I did, however, see the male (?) bringing the 
female (?) fish food while she was engaged in incubating a single speckled 
egg which she covered. Here I had an excellent opportunity to learn that the 
Cabot tern incubated but one egg. While it is true that in one or two instances 
there were two eggs, so close to make it appear they belonged to a single 
clutch, yet when the mother bird settled on them she threw her breast feathers 
over one egg, to the other paying not the slightest concern. In fact, at one 
time I saw a Cabot tern cover a single egg and with her bill roll the other 
some inches away from the hollow in which she had deposited her own. 

At this time I made an experiment, contemplated for the past several years. 
I had often wondered why it is, where there are several thousand single 
speckled eggs, such as the Cabot terns deposit on the beaches, one particular 
egg can be singled out by the parent as her own private and individual; 
property, and have often wondered whether or not they can, with certainty, 
know their own egg. I have often been asked : " How does the tern know 
its own eggs?" and have always facetiously answered: "By counting the 
spots." As I was studying the birds I selected two Cabots, one on the left 
and the other on my right, that were marked quite distinctly — one having a 
wholly black crest and one having its crest speckled with a few white feathers 
which heralded the coming of the winter plumage. 

At 11.15 I left the blind, which naturally scared off the birds, and changed 
the egg on my left, which had been covered by the pure black-headed tern, 
and moved it several feet away, exchanging it for the egg that had been 
covered by the Cabot with white feathers in its crest. This egg was placed 
on the spot belonging to the black-headed tern. At 11.18 the circling and 
frantically crying birds commenced resettling on their eggs, and showing not 



224 BULLETIN" 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

the slightest concern each tern sought its own egg despite the fact that it 
had been moved several feet and placed in a different nest. After allowing each 
bird to remain on its egg for 15 minutes, I again left the blind and retrans- 
ferred the eggs with the same result as before. Each parent bird settled on 
its own egg without hesitation, and, as before, not evidencing any surprise over 
the change of the location. 

The eggs of Cabot's tern are certainly beautiful and subject to 
great variation; they make one of the prettiest series in the egg 
collector's cabinet. The ground color on the prettiest eggs varies 
from "seashell pink " to " pale cinnamon pink," or from " pale pink- 
ish buff" to "pale ochraceous buff." Some show various olive 
shades, from " olive buff " to " light buff ; " others vary from creamy 
white to pure dull white. The markings vary endlessly in size, 
shape, and extent. Some eggs are uniformly covered with small 
spots, densely or sparingly; others are boldly marked with large 
heavy blotches or irregular, fantastic scrawls. These markings may 
be confluent in a ring at either end. The markings are usually 
in the darkest shades of " blackish brown " or black ; occasionally 
they are more or less washed out on the edges, as in the royal tern's 
eggs ; occasionally blotches or scrawls of " burnt umber " or " russet " 
are overlaid with darker shades; spots, blotches, and scrawls of 
" pale lavender gray " are seen under the bolder markings. Often 
both fine spots and bold scrawls are seen on the same egg. When 
these include two shades of brown and the lavender gray on a pink 
background the effect is beautiful. One odd egg in my collection 
has the pink ground color nearly concealed by fine scrawls of several 
shades of reddish brown, suggesting certain types of falcon's eggs. 
The shell is smooth, but without luster. The shape varies from 
ovate to elongate ovate. The measurements of 41 eggs, in the United 
States National Museum and the writer's collections, average 51.1 
by 36 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 
57 by 37.5, 51.5 by 38.5 and 46 by 33 millimeters. 

Young. — Incubation seems to be shared by both sexes and lasts 
for about three weeks. Morris (1903) quotes Selby as saying: 

As soon as the young birds become tolerably fledged, but before they are 
altogether able to fly, they frequently take to the water, swimming off to the 
smaller rocks, where they continue to be fed by the parents until capable 
of joining them in their fishing excursions. 

Plumages. — Downy young Cabot's terns do not show so much 
variation as young royal terns and will average much lighter in 
color. They are seldom much darker than " cartridge buff " on the 
upper parts and are usually buffy white or white. They are also 
usually immaculate; often a few small dusky tips are seen on the 
down of the back, and occasionally an individual is uniformly mot- 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 48 



^jSr*'Cl! 





irVK' 



Southwest Key, Louisiana. 



H. K. Job. 




Louisiana. 



S. C. Arthur. 



Cabot's Tern. 

For description see page 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 225 

tied with such dusky tips over the entire back and pileum. The bill 
is light yellowish flesh-color, and the feet either the same or dull gray- 
ish in the dried skin. The juvenal plumage appears first on the 
scapulars, back, and wings. In the juvenal plumage the forehead 
and crown are white, the latter streaked with black, which increases 
on the occiput and auriculars to nearly solid black; the back and 
scapulars are boldly marked with black spots and V-shaped mark- 
ings, which are largest and most prominent on the scapulars; the 
remiges are slaty gray with white edges; the rectrices are grayish 
white with dusky subterminal areas or black-spotted near the tips; 
there is a grayish cubital band on the lesser wing-coverts and the 
greater coverts are washed with pale gray ; the under parts are white. 
A partial postjuvenal molt begins in September, at which the dark 
markings disappear and the first winter plumage is assumed. This 
is similar to the adult winter plumage except that the wings and tail 
of the juvenal plumage are retained. This plumage is worn all win- 
ter until the first complete prenuptial molt in the early spring, at 
which probably most young birds assume a plumage practically in- 
distinguishable from the adult. 

Adults have two complete molts each year. The prenuptial 
molt occurs between March and May, producing the well-known 
breeding plumage. The postnuptial begins early in July and often 
lasts through August and September. In winter adults the yellow 
tip of the bill is duller and more restricted ; the forehead is white, the 
crown narrowly streaked with black, and the occipital crest is brown- 
ish black ; the tail is shorter than in the spring and shows some gray 
near the end. 

Food. — The food of Cabot's tern consists almost wholly of small 
fish, such as small mullets, sand launces, and young garfish, which 
it obtains by making vigorous plunges into the water much after the 
manner of other terns; but it also eats shrimps and squids. It is 
more of a sea bird than the smaller terns, and is more often seen feed- 
ing out on the open sea or among the breakers than in the quiet tidal 
estuaries. Audubon (1840) thus describes its feeding habits: 

While plunging after the small mullets and other diminutive fishes that 
form the principal part of its food, it darts perpendicularly downward with 
all the agility and force of the common and arctic terns, nearly immersing its 
whole body at times, but rising instantly after, and quickly regaining a posi- 
tion from which it can advantageously descend anew. Should the fish dis- 
appear as the bird is descending the latter instantly recovers itself without 
plunging into the water. 

Behavior. — In flight this is one of the swiftest and most skillful 
of the terns. Its long, slender, pointed form is highly specialized 



226 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

for speed and ease in cutting the air. Mr. Montague Chamberlain 
(1891) says: 

Its strength of wing and skill enable it to outride the severest storms, and 
flocks of these birds may be seen dipping into crested waves or skimming 
over angry breakers to seize the prey that may be brought to the surface by 
the gale. 

Intermediate in size between the two large terns and the several 
smaller species, it seems to combine the strength and vigor of the 
former with the activity of the latter. It may be distinguished 
from either by its shape and by its long, slender bill. The yellow tip 
of its bill is quite conspicuous at short range. 

Its cry is short, sharp, loud, and shrill. Audubon (1840) refers to 
it as " sharp, grating, and loud enough to be heard at the distance of 
half a mile." Morris (1903) calls it " a loud, hoarse, and grating cry 
or scream, likened to the syllables ' pink ' or ' cree.' " Yarrell (1871) 
noted the syllables " kirhitt, kirhitt." When disturbed on its breed- 
ing grounds, or when feeding in flocks, it is very noisy. 

Winter. — Throughout the southern portions of its breeding range 
in this country, on the southern Florida and Gulf coasts, Cabot's 
tern is a permanent resident, its numbers being increased by the 
addition of migrants from more northern points. The species with- 
draws in the fall from its summer resorts, on the coast of Virginia, 
the Carolinas, and northern Florida, to its winter home in the Baha- 
mas, the Gulf of Mexico, and the coasts of Central and South 
America. Here it spends the winter roaming about the outer 
islands and sand bars in company with other terns and gulls, follow- 
ing schools of fish or resting in flocks on the sand. At this season it 
is highly gregarious and quite shy. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Virginia (North- 
ampton County) to British Honduras (Saddle Cay). Some of the 
Bahamas (Acklin and Kagged Islands, Samana Keys, etc.), and 
West Indies (from Cuba to Dominica). 

Winter range. — From the Bahamas and Florida southward 
through the West Indies and along the Atlantic coast of South 
America to southern Brazil (Iguape). From the coasts of Louisiana 
and Texas southward, along the Central American coast to Colombia 
(Cartagena). And oh the Pacific coasts of Oaxaca (San Mateo) 
and Guatemala (Chiapam). 

Spring migration. — Birds depart from coast of Brazil during 
March and April and first arrivals reach South Carolina, Capers 
Island, April 9. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF KORTH AMERICAN GUULS AND TERNS. 227 

Fall migration. — Apparently in September, but data is very- 
scanty. 

Casual records. — Stragglers have wandered in summer as far north 
as Massachusetts (Chatham, August, 1865). Three specimens taken 
in spring of 1882 in Lucknow, Ontario. A few remain in Brazil in 
summer (Iguape, June, and Eio Janeiro, August). 

Egg dates. — Texas: Eighteen records, April 25 to June 14; nine 
records, May 17 to 28. Bahamas : Twelve records, May 14 to June 
20 ; six records, May 16 to 22. 

STERNA TRUDEAUI Audubon. 

TBUDEATTS TERN. 

HABITS. 

This unique and well-marked species belongs to the South Amer- 
ican fauna and is a very rare straggler to North America. The 
only record for North America is that of Audubon (1840), who 
first described the species and says of it : 

This beautiful tern, which has not hitherto been described, was procured at 
Great Egg Harbor, in New Jersey, by my much esteemed and talented friend, 
J. Trudeau, Esq., of Louisiana, to whom I have great pleasure in dedicating it. 
Nothing is known as to its range, or even the particular habits in which it 
may differ from other species. The individual obtained was in company of a 
few others of the same kind. I have received from Mr. Trudeau an intimation 
of the occurrence of several individuals on Long Island. 

Nesting. — Mr. A. H. Holland (1890) has studied Trudeau's tern in 
its native haunts in Argentina in the region of Estancia Espartilla. 
He says: 

This tern is rare with us, excepting in the breeding season, when it appears 
suddenly and in numbers, either single or in pairs. 

While hunting through a large guliery of Larus maculipennis early in No- 
vember I came upon a corner of the lagoon entirely occupied by these pretty 
terns. There was little shelter for the nests, a few scattered willow stumps, 
but no rushes or flags, and the water was some 4£ feet deep. The nests were all 
placed together, as the gulls' nests were, 30 or 40 of them, each a foot or two 
from its neighbor, and so on. They were very shallow structures, composed 
of green water grasses (very succulent ones and wet), with no lining, and 
supported on the water by the thick growth of grass underneath. The eggs 
were three to four in number, of the usual tern type, varying from the dark, 
thickly spotted, and blotched varieties to the thinly spotted pale ones. In no 
two nests were the eggs similar. As I approached the ternery (if there is such 
an expression) the birds became very anxious, darting down close to my head 
as I stood over a nest and uttering shrill cries. The sight was a beautiful one, 
with thousands of gulls and these graceful terns as well, all showing 
beautifully against a blue sky. 

Eggs. — There are three sets of eggs of this rare species in the 
collection of Col. John E. Thayer, which were collected by Mr. Her- 



228 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

bert Ozan on St. Ambrose Island, in the St. Felix group, off the 
coast of Chile, on December 17, 1907. The nests were mere hollows 
scraped in the sand among bowlders without any material of any 
kind or any lining in the nests. The " birds were close sitters, perch- 
ing on rocks only 10 feet away while the eggs were secured. The 
male bird was killed by a stone thrown by a companion," according 
to the collector's notes. There are seven eggs in the series — one set 
of three and two sets of two. The eggs are not distinguishable from 
certain types of common tern's eggs. The ground color varies from 
" Isabella color " to " deep olive buff." Some are uniformly spotted 
or blotched with dark browns, and some are more heavily blotched 
at the larger end. One set is spotted with the lighter shades of 
brown and olive. Some of the eggs show underlying spots of drab 
or lilac. The shape is ovate. The measurements of these eggs and 
of three furnished by Kev. F. C. R. Jourdain, 10 in all, average 41.7 
by 30.6 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 
46.4 by 30.4, 44.7 by 31, 39 by 30.5, and 39.5 by 30 millimeters. 

Plumages. — Nothing seems to be known about the downy young 
or the immature plumages. The full nuptial plumage is well illus- 
trated in Audubon's plate. Two birds in my collection taken in 
Argentina on October 17 and 27 are just completing the molt of 
the primaries, but otherwise are in full fresh winter plumage ; proba- 
bly they are young birds, for adults should be molting into the 
nuptial plumage at this time. Dr. L. C. Sanford, from whom I 
obtained my specimens, has quite a series in this plumage collected 
by Mr. It. H. Beck in the same locality at about the same time, but 
there are no adults in nuptial plumage among them. The winter 
plumage is strikingly like that of Forster's tern, but Trudeau's 
tern may be distinguished by the much shorter and much less deeply 
forked tail, the long streamers of the outer rectrices being very 
conspicuous in the Forster's tern. The bill in Trudeau's tern, espe- 
cially in adults, is also longer and slenderer than in the commoner 
species, and it is tipped with yellow. 

Behavior. — As to the habits, behavior, and life history of Tru- 
deau's tern there is nothing more to be said at present. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Known to breed only in Argentina (Estancia 
Espartilla, Ajo district, etc.) and off the coast of Chile (St. Ambrose 
Island). 

Winter range. — Unknown. 

Migrations, — Not definitely known. Argentina records: Estancia 
Espartilla, September to February ; La Plata River, March ; Mar del 
Plata, October 17 to 27; Punta Lara, October; Buenos Aires, Sep- 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 229 

tember, November, and January. Brazil records: Rio Janeiro, Au- 
gust ; Santa Catharina, February and August. Straits of Magellan, 
Punta Arenas, November 19 and 20. Chile, Arica Bay, August. 

Casual record. — Accidental in#North America. New Jersey (Great 
Egg Harbor). 

Egg dates. — St. Ambrose Island, Chile : One record, December 17. 

STERNA FOKSTERI NuttaU. 

FORSTER'S TERN. 

HABITS. 

Although differing from the common tern in several details and in 
its habits, the Forster's tern so closely resembles it in general ap- 
pearance that it is not to be wondered at that the species remained 
so long unrecognized, and that, even after its discovery, its distribu- 
tion and habits were so little understood. Audubon (1840) described 
and figured this species, in its winter plumage under the name 
Sterna havelli, but apparently never recognized it in its spring 
plumage. Doctor Coues (1877) says of it: 

Swainson and Richardson described it as the common tern ; Wilson did not 
know it at all ; and Audubon only became aware of it in the imperfect plumage 
which he described as "havelli." Nuttall doubtingly gave it a name upon the 
strength of Richardson's description. Mr. Lawrence, in 1858, was the first to 
elucidate its characters satisfactorily, while it was not until the appearance 
of my paper that its changes of plumage became known. 

But even he, with all his wide field experience, was entirely ig- 
norant of its breeding range, saying : 

It breeds in the interior of British America, and very abundantly, to judge 
from the great numbers of eggs from that region I have seen. It may yet be 
found to nest on or near the northern tier of States. 

It is now known, of course, to have a very wide breeding range, as 
far east as Virginia, as far south as Texas, and as far west as; 
California. 

It seems to me that the name marsh tern might much more prop- 
erly have been applied to this species than to the gull-billed tern, for 
Forster's tern is, during the breeding season at least, essentially a 
bird of the marshes, whereas the gull-billed tern shows a decided 
preference for sandy beaches. 

Spring. — Rev. P. B. Peabody (1896) says that these terns arrive 
on their breeding grounds at Heron Lake, Minnesota " about April 
7," and describes their behavior as follows : 

Terns creep, scout-like, on the wing, along the thawing shores. Then, as heat 
and wind wave melt and crush the ice bonds of the lake, the tern speedily as- 
sumes the hawk-like (or swallow-like) habit, wandering fitfully over the newly 
released waters, with eye alert, beak pointing downward, and with many a 



230 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

shrill but cheery cry of self-gratification or of brotherly good will. He knows 
not fear. As one rows among the innumerable " copes " of rush and flag, bent 
on reaching the Mallard's feeding ground, a skirmish line of terns will wander 
by, 20, 15, 10 feet overhead, furiously, without swerving a wing breadth from 
their course. The one or two that are passing eye curiously the dumb decoys 
in the boat's belly, and then saunter on with a rattling " jeer " of derision at 
the hunter who toils at the oar, and who, unlike the tern, is never quite sure 
of his game. But, then, our black-capped jaeger hunts all day. 

Nesting. — I first found this species breeding on Wreck Island, off 
the coast of Virginia, on June 28, 1907, where we discovered a colony 
of about 50 pairs. This and the other large islands in the group are 
much like Cobb's Island, consisting of long, wide beaches on the outer, 
or ocean, side, flat and sandy in some places or piled high with accu- 
mulated oyster shells in others. Back of the beaches, on the shore 
side, are extensive salt meadows or marshes, intersected by numerous 
creeks and dotted with small ponds or mud holes. On the outer 
beaches we found breeding colonies of black skimmers, common and 
gull-billed terns, and over the marshes were scattered nests of laugh- 
ing gulls and clapper rails. Our attention was first attracted to the 
Forster's terns by their harsh grating cries, as they flew out to meet 
us while exploring one of the creeks in our skiff. We finally located 
the colony, by the actions of the birds, just beyond the long grass, 
which grew thickly along the banks of the creek, and found the nests 
thickly scattered along the drifted piles of dead sedges, which the 
high tides had floated off the marsh and deposited in long rows close 
to the tall-growing sedges. The nests were so close together that I 
counted 12 nests in a space about 10 yards long by 3 yards wide. One 
nest was placed within 3 feet of a clapper rail's nest. The nests were 
mostly large and elaborate structures, remarkably well built, and re- 
minding me of the nests of Franklin's gulls. They consisted of large 
piles of dead sedges and grasses, surmounted by neat little nests, 
deeply hollowed, with well-rounded and compactly woven rims. They 
usually measured between 20 and 30 inches in diameter, the smallest 
one measured being 16 inches at the base ; the cup-shaped portion, or 
nest proper, measured from 7 to 8 inches outside and from 4 to 5 
inches inside in diameter; the inner cavity was from 1 to 1-| inches 
deep and was neatly lined with split reeds and grasses. On the whole, 
the nests looked like works of art when compared with the slovenly 
nests built by other species of terns. Most of the nests contained 
three or four eggs, but many sets of five were found and a few nests 
held newly hatched young. 

In the Breton Island reservation, off the coast of Louisiana, I 
found two breeding colonies of Forster's terns. On Battledore 
Island a colony of about 30 pairs were nesting in a compact group 
on a strip of drift seaweed which had washed up over a marsh and 
lodged against the tall grass and "black mangrove" bushes sur- 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 49 




Wreck Island, Virginia. 



A. C. Bent. 







Wreck Island, Virginia. 



Forster-s Tern. 

For description see page 334. 



A. C. Bent. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 231 

rounding it. Numerous Louisiana herons were nesting in the " man- 
groves" and vast colonies of breeding, laughing gulls and black 
skimmers occupied the remainder of the island. The terns' nests 
were similar to those seen on the Virginia coast, described above, and 
the eggs were nearly all hatched. The following day (June 22, 
1910) I found a much larger colony of this species, consisting of 
about a thousand pairs, on Hog Island, a few miles distant. This 
island had been broken up into several sections by the washing away 
of beaches and soil, leaving large areas of swampy salt meadows, 
overgrown with long grass and extensive thickets of " black man- 
grove " bushes. Louisiana herons were breeding in the " mangroves " 
and laughing gulls and Forster's terns on the marshes. Most of the 
tern's eggs had hatched and some of the young were nearly grown. 
In Texas the nesting habits of this species seem to be entirely 
different. Mr. George B. Sennett (1878) on May 16 found it 
breeding in the salt marshes on the Rio Grande. 

On the same low and nearly submerged island where we found the eggs 
of stilt, Himantopus nigricollis, and some hundred yards or more distant, was 
a group of these terns upon the ground near their eggs. When we approached 
them they commenced screaming and flying about in great distress. They 
had only fairly begun to lay, as no set was complete. One or two eggs were 
all that any nest contained, and some were not occupied. The nests were 
situated farther away from the water than the stilts, but still where the mud 
was wet, and consisted simply of a patting-down of grasses and soil into a 
shallow, saucer-shaped depression. 

Mr. TS. S. Goss (1891) found them "breeding in numbers on the 
small islands in Nueces Bay, Texas, as early as the 1st of April. The 
birds at such times are very noisy, and, as their nesting places are 
approached, their hoarse notes as they circle close overhead are 
almost deafening. Nest, a hollow, worked out in the sand, and 
broken shells, and lined with grasses." 

Still another style of nesting seems to prevail in the western 
States. Mr. Robert B. Rockwell (1911) gives an interesting account 
of a colony of Forster's terns in the Barr Lake region of Colorado, 
saying : 

On May 24, 1907, a week after the first eggs were found, the breeding colony 
was in full swing, and we were surprised to find a number of nests containing 
complete sets, which had been built by the birds upon floating masses of 
decaying cat-tails. These structures were all made entirely of dead cat-tail 
stalks, and while they varied greatly in size and bulk, the general plan of 
construction was the same in all, being a compact pile of material of irregular 
outline, apparently -floating on the surface of the water (although in reality 
the nests were supported by masses of dead cat-tails beneath the surface of 
the water), and were very conspicuous owing to the lack of concealing vege- 
tation. The eggs were deposited in the center of the pile in a neat depression, 
which was lined with small bits of the same material. The bottom of the cavity 
was, in every instance, well above the surface of the water (usually from 2 to 
174785—21 16 



232 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

6 inches) , and the nest cavities were entirely free from moisture. Most of these 
nests were built in comparatively open water almost waist deep, and about 30 
yards from shore. On the date mentioned (May 24) 15 nests were examined, 
about a third of which were constructed by the birds as described, while the 
remaining two-thirds were the usual depressions in muskrat houses. The 
majority of these nests contained three eggs, but a few of them held only one 
and two, and one nest contained five. 

The habit of nesting on old and partially dilapidated muskrat 
houses seems to be common at many places throughout the lakes and 
swamps of the interior. In such situations little, if any, nest is 
built, and sometimes two, or even three, sets of eggs are found on one 
house. Usually the nest consists merely of a hollow excavated in the 
half-decayed vegetable rubbish, but sometimes a few reeds, rushes, 
or bits of grass, brought from a distance, are added to line the cavity 
or build up a slight rim around it. 

Mr. Milton S. Kay (1903) describes a breeding colony of this 
species in Lake Valley, California, in which — 

the nests were built in various situations. The majority were built up of dry 
tules where the water is about 5 feet deep. When freshly built of green tules 
the nest formed a pretty picture. They were placed among tali, thick tules or 
marsh grass and pond lilies at their edge. Great difference existed in the nests, 
some being elaborate structures, while others were scantily made and placed 
on soggy masses of dead tules or floating logs. 

In Washington, according to Dawson (1909), these terns make use 
of the old nests of the western grebe and sometimes even appropriate 
an occupied nest of the latter. He shows a photograph of such an 
occupied nest, and says he has " seen others in which the eggs of the 
rightful owner were nearly buried under a little turret of dried 
reeds, upon which the tern had been allowed to place her full com- 
plement of eggs." 

Eggs. — In spite of the fact that the breeding season is much pro- 
longed, and that early and late sets of eggs are often found, the 
Forster's tern doubtless raises only one brood in a season. The nor- 
mal set consists of three eggs, sometimes only two ; sets of four eggs 
are common, sets of five are not rare, and even sets of six have been 
reported. These larger sets usually, if not always, show evidences of 
having been laid by more than one female, either in the shape, color, 
or extent of incubation in the eggs. 

The eggs of Forster's tern are practically indistinguishable from 
those of the common tern. In shape they are ovate, short ovate, or 
elongate ovate. The shell is thin, smooth, and without luster. The 
ground color varies from ' tawny olive " or " cinnamon buff " to 
" cartridge buff " or " pale olive buff." The markings are usually 
rather small spots, more or less evenly distributed, but often these 
are congregated to form a ring on or near the larger end; many 
eggs are boldly and handsomely marked with large blotches or ir- 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 50 




Barr Lake, Colorado. 



R. B. Rockwell. 




Barr Lake, Colorado. 



Forster's Tern. 

For description see page 



R. B. Rockwell. 



LIFE HISTOEIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 233 

regular scrawls. These markings are in the darker shades of brown, 
such as " chestnut brown," " burnt umber," or " seal brown." Some 
eggs have underlying blotches of lighter shades, such as "tawny 
russet " or " hazel." Nearly all eggs, especially the lighter types, 
show spots or blotches of various shades of lilac or lavender grays. 
Where there are markings of several different colors on the same 
egg the effect is often very pretty. The measurements of 65 eggs, in 
the United States National Museum, average 43 by 31 millimeters; 
the eggs showing the four extremes measure 48 by 29.5, 43 by 32.5, 
39 by 31 and 42 by 28.5 millimeters. 

Young. — The period of incubation is 23 days, and probably both 
sexes incubate. The young remain in the nest for a few days, until 
they are strong enough to run about or swim, when they become very 
lively and pugnacious. They take to the water readily and soon 
become expert at running or swimming about the marsh and hiding 
in the grass. They are fed by their devoted parents until fully 
grown and able to fly. 

Plumage. — The downy young is quite different from that of the 
common tern. The upper parts vary from light "clay color," 
through " cinnamon buff " to " pinkish buff," shading off to paler 
shades of the same color below, paling on the breast and belly almost 
to white, and darkest on the throat, which is "wood brown" or 
" drab " in some specimens, but never so dark as in the common tern. 
The upper parts are heavily spotted or streaked with black or 
" blackish brown," less heavily on the head and more heavily on the 
back, where these markings are confluent into great blotches or longi- 
tudinal bands. This color pattern is well adapted to conceal the 
chick among the lights and shadows of the marsh grass where it 
hides. 

The juvenal plumage, which is acquired by the time that the young 
bird has attained its growth, is also quite distinctive and matches the 
surroundings in which the young bird lives with a heavy suffusion 
of dark browns on the upper parts. In this plumage the pearl 
gray of the back and scapulars is almost wholly concealed by the 
brown terminal portions of the feathers, which are " clay color " or 
"cinnamon buff," centrally clouded or barred with "snuff brown," 
or "burnt umber"; the top of the head is nearly uniform "snuff 
brown " ; the sides of the neck are heavily clouded, and the f orebreast 
and rump are lightly clouded with the same color, which also shows 
on the tips of the lesser wing-coverts, some of the greater wing- 
coverts, and the rectrices; a conspicuous black patch surrounds the 
eyes and covers the auriculars. As the season advances all these 
brown markings fade or wear off to produce the first winter plumage ; 
in this plumage the rump and breast become pure white, the browns 
on the upper parts gradually disappear or leave only traces of the 



234 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

buffy edgings in the shape of transverse bars ; a partial molt of the 
body plumage also takes place at this time. Young birds, in their 
first winter plumage, may be distinguished from adults by their 
shorter and less deeply forked tails with some brownish mottling, 
and by their darker primaries, which are less silvery and have the 
white spaces more sharply contrasted with the black. 

A complete prenuptial molt in February and March produces 
the first nuptial plumage, which is usually indistinguishable from 
the adult. Some young birds in nuptial plumage have wings some- 
what like those of the first winter plumage; others renew the first 
winter plumage of the head ; but, as a rule, young birds become in- 
distinguishable from adults when 9 or 10 months old. 

Adults have two complete molts — a prenuptial in February and 
March and a postnuptial in August — and two distinct plumages. 
The adult winter plumage, which Audubon described as Sterna ha- 
velli, is quite different from the well-known spring plumage. The 
crown is usually largely and sometimes wholly white, though dusky 
spots are often scattered through it, and there is a more or less dis- 
tinct nuchal crescent of dusky tipped feathers; there is a distinct 
black space, including the eye and the ear coverts; the lateral tail 
feathers are shorter than in the spring, and the primaries, when 
freshly grown, are beautifully silvered. 

Food. — Being so largely a bird of the marshes, Forster's tern feeds 
less on fish and has a more varied bill of fare than the other terns. 
It may be seen catching insects on the wing, as well as hovering over 
the pools, its bill pointing straight downward, looking for tiny mor- 
sels of food on the surface. It sometimes makes a diving plunge 
into the water, but more often it drops down lightly or swoops grace- 
fully along the surface, picking up its food without wetting its 
plumage. Rev. P. B. Peabody (1896) notes that "the first apparent 
spring-time food consists of dead fish and frogs and other aquatica 
that have perished in the winter ice, and are being revealed as the 
latter melts beneath the sun." Mr. W. L. Dawson (1909) says: 

When the insects are flying well the terns prefer to hawk. Dragon flies and 
caddis flies are favorite quarry, and in pursuit of the latter the birds will often 
rise to a height of several hundred feet. 

The birds shot in Louisiana by Audubon (1840) " were engaged in 
picking up floating coleopterous insects." 

Behavior. — I have never been able to discover anything distinctive 
in the flight of Forster's tern ; it is as light and graceful as that of the 
common tern, which it closely resembles in every particular. Al- 
though quite different in the fall, the two species can not be easily 
distinguished in the spring ; the white breast of the former is often 
obscured by shadow, the slight difference in size inappreciable, and 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 51 



s- I / 




Barr Lake, Colorado. 



Colorado Museum of Natural History. 




Malheur Lake, Oregon. 



Forster's Tern. 

For description see page 334. 



W. L. Finlev. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 235 

the only field mark of consequence is the slightly longer tail of 
forsteri, which is not very conspicuous. 

The voice, however, is quite distinctive and usually makes identi- 
fication easy and certain. The cry of the young bird in juvenal 
plumage, as we heard it in the Manitoba marshes, is a shrill, high- 
pitched squeal, quite different from the notes of other terns or gulls. 
I noted at the same time the call of the adult as harsh and grating, 
on a low key and sounding like " tza-a-ap." Elsewhere in my notes 
I find that I have described the same note as " zreep " or " zrurrrr " — 
a rasping, nasal, buzzing sound, suggesting the well-known note of 
the nighthawk. It also utters on rare occasions a soft "wheat, 
wheat," like the common tern. On the Virginia coast the prevailing 
notes were the characteristic, harsh, grating cries described above; 
but I also heard here a shrill, peeping note, " pip, pip, pip, pip, pip," 
rapidly given. 

Mr. Peabody (1896) condemns Forster's tern as a "mis-avian 
spirit," saying: 

While sociable among his kind, and, to them, moderately good-tempered (ex- 
cept in the breeding time), he is radically hostile to all other birds. A veritable 
Ishmael among the waterfowl, his spirit, both of courage and of mean 
cowardice, is never so clearly portrayed as when, by mutual encroachment 
upon favorable waters, many species other than those of his feather flock 
together. 

Evidently the tern has many foes. The Franklin's gull is his arch enemy; 
the muskrat and the mink undoubtedly do away with many eggs, while the 
character of this tern himself inclines me to think that he occasionally plays 
the cannibal. 

Mr. Rockwell (1911) cites the following incident: 

A few black-crowned night herons were nesting among the terns, and one 
unfortunate youngster, unable to fly, who deserted his nest at our approach, 
took refuge on a tern's nest, where he was promptly attacked by half a dozen 
of the birds, and although twice as large as his assailants, was knocked down 
repeatedly by well-directed blows of the birds' wings, until he finally sought 
safety in the water. 

Winter. — As Forster's tern is somewhat hardier than others of its 
genus, the fall migration is more prolonged and it winters farther 
north. Migrants begin to arrive on the Carolina coasts as early as 
August and linger until late in the fall, wintering regularly in South 
Carolina and occasionally farther north. In Florida it is a very 
common winter resident on inland waters and on the coast. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Temperate North America, mainly within the 
United States, at widely scattered localities. East to western Ontario 
(Port Maitland, near the east end of Lake Erie) and the coast of 



236 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Virginia (Northampton County). South to the coast of Louisiana 
(various islands), southern coast of Texas (Eefugio to Cameron 
counties), central Colorado (Barr Lake region), northern Utah 
(Great Salt Lake region) and central California (Merced County). 
West to the central valleys of California (San Joaquin and Sacra- 
mento Valleys), central southern Oregon (Klamath Lakes), and 
central Washington (Douglas County). North to central Alberta 
(60 miles southeast of Edmonton), and central Manitoba (Lake 
Winnipegosis) . 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reserva- 
tions: In Louisiana, Breton Island and Shell Keys; in Oregon, 
Klamath Lake and Malheur Lake. 

Winter range. — From the coast of South Carolina and the Gulf 
coasts of Florida, Louisiana, and Texas southward to Brazil (Per- 
nambuco. From southern California (San Diego region) south- 
ward along the west coast of Mexico to Guatemala. 

Spring migration. — Early dates of arrival: Virginia, Smith's 
Island, May 10; New Jersey, Five Mile Beach, April 26, and Long 
Beach, May 14 ; Ohio, Cincinnati, May 4 ; Ontario, May 22 ; Kansas, 
Emporia, April 18; Illinois, Chicago, May 6; Minnesota, Heron 
Lake, April 7 ; Manitoba, Oak Point, May 17 ; California, Stockton, 
April 17, and Monterey, May 10. 

Fall migration. — Early dates of arrival: Lower California, San 
Jose del Cabo, September 29 ; Guatemala, Lake Duenas, October 28. 
Late dates of departure: Ontario, Toronto, October 19; Minnesota, 
Heron Lake, October 14; California, Monterey, September 23. 

Casual records. — Stragglers in summer and fall have been taken 
as far east as Massachusetts (Ipswich, September, 1870, and Mono- 
moy Island, October 2, 1880). 

Egg dates. — Virginia : Twenty-eight records, May 30 to July 12 ; 
fourteen records, June 5 to 28. Manitoba : Twenty-one records, June 
7 to July 12 ; eleven records, June 8 to 21. Utah : Nineteen records, 
June 5 to July 3; ten records, June 11 to 20. California: Fifteen 
records, May 26 to July 12 ; eight records, May 27 to June 15. 

STERNA HIRUNDO Linnaeus. 
COMMON TERN. 

HABITS. 

One of the most charming features of our eastern seacoast is this 
graceful little " sea swallow." The most attractive combination of 
summer sea, sky, and sandy beach would be but an empty, lifeless 
scene without the little " mackerel gull," such a fitting accompani- 
ment of its gentle surroundings and so suggestive of summer sun- 
shine and cooling sea breezes. One can not help admiring such an 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GTJIJ^S AND TERNS. 237 

elegant and dainty creature, its spotless and delicate plumage and its 
buoyant, graceful flight, as it flies listlessly up the beach until the 
discovery of some school of small fry, on which it feeds, causes it to 
pause, hover for an instant, and plunge headlong into the water for 
some tiny minnow. 

We came near losing this beautiful bird a few years ago, because 
its exquisite plumage was so much in demand for feminine decora- 
tion that, before we realized it, collectors for the millinery trade had 
alarmingly reduced its numbers. Stringent laws, however, were 
passed for its protection and it has now practically regained its 
former abundance. The most important breeding colony in Massa- 
chusetts is on Muskeget Island, between Nantucket and Marthas 
Vineyard, which has been rigidly protected for a number of years 
and contains the largest sea-bird colonies on the New England coast 
south of Maine. Mr. George H. Mackay kept very close watch over 
it during its most critical period, and the keeper of the life-saving 
station has guarded it ever since. That the terns prospered under 
protection is clearly shown by Mr. Mackay's records, covering a 
period of five years from 1894 to 1898, inclusive, during which time 
they nearly doubled in number. 

When Mr. William Brewster first visited Muskeget in 1870 the 
terns were astonishingly abundant though he was told by the 
fishermen that they had been diminishing for years. Four years 
later he found their numbers sadly depleted by the depredations of 
fishermen who landed there regularly to collect their eggs, through 
June, July, and August, keeping the poor terns laying like hens, 
so that very few of them succeeded in raising broods. I made five 
visits to Muskeget in 1885, 1889, 1890, 1892, and 1903. Between my 
first two visits they continued to decrease in spite of the new laws 
enacted for their protection, but between 1890 and 1902 they in- 
creased again and are now probably as abundant as they ever were 
within my memory. Mr. Mackay's record show a very satisfactory 
increase between 1894 and 1898. Egging operations and shooting 
for millinery purposes have been effectively stopped. 

Muskeget Island is the largest of a group of small, low sandy 
islands forming a part of the southern boundary of Nantucket 
Sound. It is a little more than an elevated sand bar raised above 
the level of the numerous sand shoals so dreaded by sailors in that 
region, which are usually invisible at high tide, but in rough weather 
are white with combing breakers. A life-saving station has been 
established there for the rescue of unfortunate mariners. A few 
fishermen's and gunners' shanties are the only other buildings on the 
island. It is approximately crescent shaped, though its outline 
changes frequently, and is about 3 miles long and a mile wide. 
Several small islands near it are practically a part of it. In the 



238 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

central portion of the island are low rolling sand hills and small 
sand dunes; the beaches are mostly flat and sandy, though in some 
places stony. Vegetation is scarce over most of the island, consist- 
ing of a sparse growth of beach grass (Ammophila arundinaca) and 
a low-growing poison ivy {Rhus radicans), with scattering patches, 
some of them quite extensive, of bayberry (Myrica carolinensis) 
and beach plum (Prunus maritima) bushes. In some places the 
beach grass grows tall and thick or in dense clumps or tufts. The 
isolation of this island, the variety of nesting sites offered, and the 
abundant food supply to be obtained in the adjacent shoals and tide 
rips make Muskeget an ideal breeding ground for common and 
roseate terns and laughing gulls. I know of no more extensive or 
interesting colony of these two terns on the American coast. A visit 
to Muskeget Island in June or July, the height of the breeding sea- 
son, is an experience never to be forgotten. As we approach it in 
our little sailboat a cloud of minute white specks is seen hovering 
over it and the air is full of birds coming and going, for not all of 
this vast multitude can find food enough in the immediate vicinity ; 
hence they wander far to the shores of Martha's Vineyard and Cape 
Cod. 

As we land and walk out among the sand hills the terns rise from 
the ground on all sides and circle about us overhead in an ever- 
increasing cloud. Some are darting down at our heads with harsh 
and grating cries of protest, others are drifting around us closely at 
hand. If we look up into the air we are made fairly dizzy; for as 
far as we can see, extending up into the deep blue sky, is a bewilder- 
ing maze of whirling birds, flying in every direction and at varying 
heights in countless thousands. Their plaintive notes when heard 
singly are nearly musical, but the combined din of such a multitude 
of voices is almost deafening in its effect, and for days afterwards 
we can hear the rhythmic chorus ringing in our ears. If we shoot 
down one of them every voice is hushed ; the silence is appalling as 
they come gliding in from every side in sympathetic horror to hover 
over their fallen companion and try to encourage him to rise again. 
Some observers have attributed this action to another motive — the 
desire to kill and remove a useless member of their society — but I have 
never seen any evidence to support this theory. Now is the greedy 
murderer's chance, as the plume hunters have learned to their ad- 
vantage, for as fast as the terns are shot down others will hurry in, 
and, as if at a given signal, all will burst out again into an excited 
chorus of angry cries of protest, hovering over and darting down at 
their dead companions in confusion and despair ; but if no more are 
shot they seem soon to forget, the crowd gradually disperses and all 
goes on as if nothing had happened. Perhaps a marsh hawk may 
appear upon the scene quartering over the low ground in search of 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN !I3 PL. 52 




Penobscot Bay, Maine. 



A. C. Bent. 




Musteget Island, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 



Common Tern. 

For description see page 334. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 239 

mice. The din suddenly ceases, every voice is still ; the silence is so 
striking that we look up to see the cause, as thousands of white wings 
are diving after him in an angry mob, and he is forced to beat a 
hasty retreat, leaving the terns free to renew their attacks on us. 

Spring. — The terns arrive at Muskeget usually about the 8th or 
10th of May, but sometimes as early as the 1st, their time of arrival 
depending somewhat on the weather conditions prevailing at the 
time, mild weather with strong southwest wind being favorable for 
their migration, and cold northerly winds retarding it. When first 
seen they are usually flying high in the air in small numbers, but 
they soon settle down onto the island as their numbers increase. 

Courtship. — Soon after their arrival they may be seen indulging 
in their simple courtship performances. Gathered in a small party 
on the beach, resting and sunning themselves, the male begins strut- 
ting about before and around the females. His neck is stretched 
upwards to its fullest extent with his bill pointing to the sky, his 
chest is thrown out, and his tail is held at a steep angle as he wad- 
dles about on his short legs. Soon he flies away and brings his 
lady love a peace offering, a sand eel, curving in a circle around his 
bill like an engagement ring. As he struts around her with it she 
seems to beg for it with open mouth, waddling up to him with half- 
raised wings. Finally he offers it to her and she accepts it; per- 
haps they pass it back and forth again before she swallows it; but 
at length the conjugal pack seems sealed and they fly away. Some- 
times this little ceremony is interrupted by the arrival of a second 
male with another sand eel which he offers to the same female. 
She seems willing to accept the offering from either suitor until a 
fight ensues and one of the males is driven away. 

Nesting. — Nest building for the common tern is not an elaborate 
operation, for many of them build no nest at all, merely excavating a 
slight hollow in the sand or on a pebbly beach. The windrows of 
seaweed or dry eelgrass, just above high- water mark, are favorite 
nesting sites, and here the bird makes a small cavity by beating down 
the soft mass with a circular movement of its body. On Muskeget 
Island nests are scattered everywhere over the sand hills, among the 
beach grass or ivy, along the higher portions of the beaches, about 
pieces of driftwood and in entirely open situations. Generally some 
nesting material is brought in — seaweed, grasses, bits of twigs, and 
other rubbish. These the bird molds into a circular hollow with 
its body, and in this way elaborate nests are sometimes built, but 
they always harmonize with their surroundings. 

The first eggs are laid on Muskeget between the middle and end 
of May, the date of laying being -more dependent on the weather 
than on the date of the arrival of the terns. Comparatively few 
eggs are laid in May, the greater portion being laid during the first 



240 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

two weeks in June and plenty of fresh eggs may be found up to the 
Fourth of July. Formerly, when much disturbed, egg laying was 
prolonged through August, but now only a few belated sets are to be 
found in that month. One egg is laid each day until the set is com- 
plete, which normally consists of three eggs, often four, sometimes 
five, and very rarely six. Frequently, sets of four, and usually the 
larger sets, show evidence of having been laid by two birds, either 
by marked difference in color, shape, or size, or by different degrees 
of incubation. Many eggs are dropped indiscriminately anywhere, 
probably by birds unable to reach their nests in time, and left to 
bleach in the sun. Such eggs are often broken, as if dropped by 
birds in the air. 

On the islands near Penobscot Bay, Maine, which are mostly 
high and rocky or covered with grass, I have examined a number of 
small breeding colonies of common terns. The nests were on the 
higher portions of the islands in open situations, either on bare 
rocky or stony ground or in the short grass, frequently near or even 
on pieces of driftwood or bunches of seaweed. They were merely 
slight hollows in the ground, carelessly lined with bits of straw, 
grass, or rubbish. Once I saw a broken sea-urchin's shell half in- 
closing one of the eggs. There are numerous small and several large 
breeding colonies scattered along the New England coast where the 
terns adapt their nest building to the conditions existing. These are 
almost invariably on islands, and generally on small islands, which 
are inaccessible to predatory animals. Notable among these are 
Penikese and Weepecket Islands, south of Buzzards Bay, Mas- 
sachusetts, where both the common and roseate terns breed in large 
numbers, nesting among the stones and rocks on the beaches or on 
the grassy uplands. Occasionally a nest is found lined with small 
stones, as if collected for that purpose. On Cobb's Island, Virginia, 
and on the adjacent islands, we found a few small colonies of com- 
mon terns, nesting on the beaches with the gull-billed terns and 
black skimmers, and on drift seaweed in the marshes. Mr. B. S. 
Bowdish (1910) mentions a colony of 250 common terns breeding on 
Koyal Shoals, a low sand spit on the coast of North Carolina, to- 
gether with least terns, black skimmers, and laughing gulls. The 
most southern breeding colony I have ever seen was in the Breton 
Island reservation off the coast of Louisiana, a small colony of about 
25 pairs on Battledore Island scattered among the large breeding 
colonies of laughing gulls and black skimmers. 

In Lake Winnipegosis we found a number of large colonies, on 
small rocky or stony islands, breeding in company with ring-billed 
gulls, double-crested cormorants, and white pelicans. Some of these 
colonies contained over 1,000 pairs of terns, nesting in dense groups 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 53 




Chatham, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 



" ft f 









;■&*«&? 






^£^ v 



.*J^ 




Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 



Common Tern. 



For description see page 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 241 

on the pebbly beaches. Often the nests were not over 2 or 3 feet 
apart and often within that distance of the gulls' nests. 

Eggs. — The eggs of the common tern vary in shape from ovate or 
short ovate to elongate ovate. The ground color varies from " pale 
buff " or " olive buff " in the lightest eggs to shades of " wood 
brown," " cinnamon," or " Isabella color " in the darkest eggs. I 
have one egg in my collection which is " pale turquoise green " — a 
rare type of coloration. There is a great diversity of color patterns 
in the markings, but most of the eggs are quite heavily spotted with 
various shades of dark brown and drab, " hair brown," " Vandyke 
brown," " seal brown," or a clove brown." Some eggs are sparingly 
spotted and others quite densely covered with small spots or dots; 
some are boldly marked with large blotches of dark colors or heavily 
splashed with lighter shades; many have underlying splashes or 
blotches of " olive gray " or " lilac gray." producing handsome effects. 
The measurements of 82 eggs, in the United States National Museum, 
average 41.5 by 30 millimeters ; the eggs showing the four extremes 
measure 45 by 31.5, 44 by 32.5, 35.5 by 28.5 and 41 by 27.5 milli- 
meters. 

Young. — I believe that only one brood is normally raised in a 
season, although it frequently happens that the first set of eggs or 
young is destroyed, making a second attempt necessary; but Prof. 
Lynds Jones (1906), who has made a careful study of this species, 
has produced some evidence to indicate that two broods are often 
raised. It does not seem to me, however, that his evidence is con- 
clusive. He has worked out the period of incubation as 21 days 
and has given a very accurate account of the development of the 
embryo. I can hardly spare the space to quote from his excellent 
paper on the subject as freely as it deserves, but the following two 
passages are well worth repeating: 

Both male and female take regular turns sitting, but my observations indicate 
that the female spends more time on the nest than the male. In the cases 
studied, a bird, later found to be the female, approached the nest abruptly and 
settled upon the eggs without any preliminaries. She remained quiet 40 min- 
utes, when she uttered a peculiar call, which was repeated at short intervals, 
until a bird separated itself from the hovering cloud or company at the water's 
edge, when she stood up, took a few steps, and flew away. The male alighted 
on the sand several rods to leeward of the nest and approached it gradually, 
simulated feeding, and called loudly at intervals. When he reached the nest 
he merely stood over the eggs to protect them from the scorching rays of the 
sun and kept calling at intervals. In 20 minutes he became more restless, called 
more frequently, and soon ran some distance to windward of the nest and took 
wing. Within a few minutes the female alighted on the sand near the nest 
and went abruptly to it and settled upon the eggs. This maneuver was repeated 
many times, with slight modifications. 

How do the old birds recognize their own young among the multitude of young 
birds congregated on the beach? was a question which occupied a good deal of 



242 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

my attention and interest. After the young leave the nest and its vicinity they 
wander about aimlessly and may be at widely different places at two visits of 
the old birds. Hence it is often a serious question on the part of the parent 
how to find its offspring. Abundant opportunity was afforded for studying this 
question. Old birds with young which had left the nest, when coming in with a 
fish, stooped to examine each group of young in turn until a young bird, appar- 
ently its own, was found, when the old bird alighted. Immediately the young- 
ster began to dance and call vociferously, but not until the old one had touched 
the young one with its forehead was the question decided. Often this minute 
inspection was immediately followed by the. departure of the old bird without 
delivering the fish, the quest for its own young being renewed. It thus became 
clear that sight alone was not depended upon for recognition, but that the final 
decision rested upon the sense of smell. Sometimes the quest resulted in failure, 
when the old bird swallowed the fish. The evidence seemed to indicate that 
these terns feed only their own young. 

By the 1st of July on Muskeget probably the majority of the young 
terns have hatched in nests which have not been disturbed. Under 
favorable weather conditions the eggs are often left uncovered, the 
sun and the warm sand supplying the proper amount of heat; but 
the birds seem to be able to judge these conditions quite accurately, 
for in cold, cloudy, or rainy weather, when the eggs might become 
chilled, or, on the other hand, when the sun is too hot for them, I 
have always found the birds anxious to return to their nests and 
protect their eggs. I think they always incubate at night. Terns 
are seldom seen on their nests because they are timid and restless, 
but they will soon return to them if the intruder remains quietly 
concealed at a safe distance. The hatching process is often slow and 
laborious, a day or more intervening between the time when the horny 
tip of the bill makes a small hole near the larger end of the egg and 
the actual hatching time, when the weak, wet little chick emerges 
from the shell. It dries off within a few hours and remains in the 
nest for two or three days. Its eyes are open at birth, but it is not 
fed until the second day. It is fed on small fish from the very first, 
which it swallows head first. When three or four days old the young 
chick becomes very lively, running about rapidly, hiding in the grass 
or between stones, or even lying flat on the sand, where its protective 
coloring helps to conceal it. It seems to realize this fact, for I have 
often seen one remain perfectly motionless until it felt sure it was 
discovered, after which its capture was far from easy. Parents must 
experience considerable difficulty in finding their own young, and still 
more trouble in protecting them against inclement weather. On 
July 4, 1903, I noticed evidences of great mortality among the very 
young chicks on Muskeget; I found hundreds of their little dead 
bodies scattered over the island, drying in the sun, sometimes two or 
three in one nest, and once I saw the dead body of an adult tern 
covering the bodies of two young in the nest. Captain Gibbs, of the 
life-saving station, thought that they were killed by exposure to pro- 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 54 




Chatham, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 




Chatham, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 



Common Tern. 

For description see page 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 243 

longed, cold, easterly rainstorms which prevailed during the previ- 
ous month. Probably the older young were able to run to shelter 
under the ivy vines, bushes, and thick grass, and thus survived. On 
certain portions of the island, where the grass grew tall and thick, 
the mortality was much less noticeable. 

The young are fed by their parents until they are fully grown 
and well able to fly and have been tattght to fish for themselves. I 
have seen young birds fully as large as their parents and in the first 
winter plumage fed in this way while standing on a sand bar or sit- 
ting on the water. As the old bird approaches with a small fish held 
crosswise in its bill the youngster shows its excitement by fluttering 
its wings rapidly, screaming and throwing back its head, with open 
mouth ready to receive the coveted morsel, while the parent hovers 
over it and feeds it. I have never seen the feeding process performed 
on the wing. 

Dr. Charles W. Townsend contributes the following notes on the 
feeding of the young : 

The full-grown young appear to be always hungry and call in a monotonous, 
beseeching way whenever an adult appears with a fish. There are three methods 
of receiving the fish from the parent — either in the air, on the sand, or on the 
water. There can be no doubt that the hungry and clamorous young will take 
food from any adult. Whether the adults feed any but their own young and 
whether they are able to recognize their own is of course a question. I am 
inclined to think that, although an adult may occasionally feed a clamorous 
youngster not its own, as a rule it refuses to feed any but its own legitimate 
offspring, which it is perfectly able to recognize. As the sexes of the adults are 
alike in plumage it is difficult to tell whether only one or both parents feed 
the young. 

In the air the feeding of the young is often a graceful and interesting perform- 
ance. By a series of aerial evolutions the adult and young reach a point where 
the transference of the fish directly from bill to bill is made so quickly that 
one often can not be sure whether the fish was thrown or dropped or actually 
passed from mouth to mouth. I am inclined to think all methods are used. 

On the sand the young sometimes collect in numbers while the adults fish 
for them. Although the young, easily recognized by their white foreheads and 
black bills, generally stand motionless, they sometimes walk about, often more 
rapidly than adults are in the habit of doing. When an adult flies toward a 
group with food the young all clamor at once, opening their black bills and 
displaying their crimson gapes, and crowding up toward the food-bearing adult. 
On one occasion at Ipswich I saw an adult with a fish in its bill alight on the 
beach near two immature birds, who both clamored loudly to be fed. Dis- 
regarding their cries it flew to a third immature bird, but was soon off and 
alighted near an adult, to whom it delivered the fish, which was swallowed. 
The young either swallow the fish at once on the beach or sometimes rise in the 
air and fly about until the fish disappears down the throat. If the fish is large 
the swallowing may be a slow process. One young bird after swallowing the 
fish alighted on the water a moment and appeared to take a drink before re- 
joining its companions on the beach. 

The process of feeding the young bird on the surface of the water is per- 
haps the most interesting, and points to the former more aquatic ancestry of 



244 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

the terns. An adult flies screaming with a fish in its bill; the young responds 
by a beseeching call and flight toward the parent, and alights on the water 
still calling. The old one flies down and delivers the fish without alighting, or 
doing so but for a brief moment. The thing is done so quickly that it is often 
impossible to know what happens. The young one as soon as it receives the 
fish flies up into the air. 

Plumages. — Several very distinct color phases may be found in 
the downy young of the common tern, each having numerous varia- 
tions. The commonest type is " cream buff," " ochraceous buff," or 
" clay colored " above, irregularly mottled with " sepia " or " seal 
brown ; " the throat is sometimes " smoke gray," but more often 
" drab " or " sepia ; " and the under parts are pure white. There is a 
gray phase in which the back is " pale neutral gray " and the crown 
" cartridge buff " or " pale olive buff ; " it is spotted with black on 
the upper parts ; and the throat is " bone brown." A much rarer type 
is plainly colored and entirely unspotted. In this type the color of 
the upper parts varies from " clay color " to " pinkish cinnamon " or 
" cinnamon buff," shading off to paler tints on the sides and to white 
on the breast. This type intergrades with the common type, and 
there is much individual variation in the extent of the dusky throat 
and its color, which varies from " smoke gray " to " brownish black." 

Dr. Jonathan D wight (1901) describes the molts and plumages 
of the first year as follows : 

Juvenal plumage acquired by a complete post-natal moult shortly after leav- 
ing the egg. Dusky markings and buff edgings are conspicuous above, the 
lower parts being a clear white. The forehead is pale brown, blending into 
a dull black occiput. Buffs and browns later become dull white by fading 
and the blacks become brownish. The forking of the tail is much less than 
that of adults, and the rectrices are more rounded, darker, and tipped with 
dusky or buff markings which become largely lost by wear. A couple of rows 
of lesser coverts along the cubital border of the wing form a dull black band. 
The flesh-colored bill and feet, after first brightening, begin to darken. 

First winter plumage acquired by a partial post-juvenal moult, limited to 
the body feathers, and sometimes a few of the lesser wing coverts. The 
new mantle is gray except for the dusky cubital bands. The forehead is 
white and the occiput black, with some tendency to streaking on the crown. 
The bill and feet become wholly black. Save for the less forked, darker tail, and 
traces of buff on the retained wing coverts, young birds closely resemble 
adults. The change to this plumage is not apt to begin before the end of Sep- 
tember on the Atlantic coast. 

First nuptial plumage acquired by a complete first prenuptial moult, which 
explains the freshness of all the feathers of breeding birds. The lateness of 
this moult in some birds is indicated by over 50 specimens (some of which 
appear to be adults) taken in Florida between May 28 and June 3, which 
vary from birds with the first primary barely grown to those still retaining 
two or three of the old primaries and a number of old rectrices and body 
feathers. The black cap is now assumed, the dusky cubital bands disappear, 
und the bill and feet become chiefly coral red. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 245 

Occasionally in young birds the first nuptial plumage, described 
above, is not assumed, but instead a plumage like the adult winter 
plumage is acquired by a late prenuptial or an early postnuptial 
molt. This plumage is worn throughout the spring and summer, 
probably by the less vigorous birds which do not breed. It is the 
plumage which was once described as a species under the name 
Sterna portlandica. 

Adults have two complete molts each year, a prenuptial early in 
the spring, before their arrival on their breeding grounds, and a post- 
nuptial in September or later. The adult winter plumage is similar 
to the first winter except for the wings and tail ; the latter is shorter 
than in spring. 

Food. — The food of the common tern consists almost wholly of 
small fish, not over 3 or 4 inches long, such as the sand launce 
{Ammodytes americanus) and the pipe fish {Siphonostoma fuscum), 
and probably the young fry of larger species. Shrimp and aquatic 
insects are eaten to some extent. Mr. Ora W. Knight (1908) speaks 
of seeing a tern chase, catch, and devour a yellow swallow-tail butter- 
fly (Papilio turnus). The fishermen about Nantucket find the terns 
very useful in helping them to locate a school of bluefish, for a hover- 
ing, diving flock of terns is almost sure to indicate the presence of the 
fish. The small fry on which the bluefish feed are driven to the 
surface in dense schools to escape from their enemies below only to 
be pounced upon by their enemies in the air. It is remarkable to see 
how quickly the terns will gather, from far and near, as soon as one 
of their number has discovered such a school. It is an exciting scene, 
for the water fairly boils with rushing, plunging fish, and the air is 
full of screaming, fluttering, diving birds ; but for the poor fry it is 
a strenuous struggle for existence. 

Doctor Townsend describes its feeding habits as follows: 

The plunge of the common tern resembles in miniature that of the gannet 
Down they drop like winged arrows, folding their wings as their bodies enter 
the water. Often they disappear entirely under the water to emerge victorious, 
with the fish in the bill, or prepared to try again. They scream their triumph 
or failure, for they can scream even with a fish in the bill. Sometimes a fish 
is difficult to swallow, and it is dropped to be caught again before it strikes 
the water. As the terns leave the water they generally shiver violently, 
probably to shake off the water. At times they fly down at the beach for a 
small crustacean or a sea worm. Off the southern Labrador coast I have 
seen flocks of terns follow small whales and dart down screaming at the water, 
after the whale had broached and gone down. It is probable that the whale 
and tern both relish the same small fry. 

During the month of August one of this tern's favorite food fishes, the 
sand eel or sand launce {Ammodytes americanus), abounds in the shallow 
waters about the beaches and inlets at Ipswich, Massachusetts, and thither 
the terns flock in large numbers from distant breeding places. These fish 
are 3 or 4 inches long and swim in compact schools of many hundreds. Where 



246 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

they abound the terns congregate and busily bombard the water, disappearing 
completely below the surface in order to capture their prey. As the bird rises 
from the water, with the fish hanging from its bill, it occasionally throws it into 
the air either from pure fun or to get a better hold on the fish. Sometimes a 
bird drops a fish, but catches it again before it has fallen more than a yard 
or two. The presence of the fish in the mouth never interferes with the capacity 
of the bird to scream or cry out. In fact, the fish bearer generally screams 
constantly, as if to announce its success in the chase or the fact of food to its 
young. 

Behavior. — The flight of the common tern, like that of all of its 
congeners, is light, airy, and graceful. At times it seems listless and 
desultory, as it flits along the shore looking for its prey, the slow 
beats of its long wings lifting its light body at every stroke; but 
again it is swift and direct when traveling high in the air or when 
hurrying to join a bevy of its fellows hovering over a school of fish; 
but always the bird has better control of its movements than it 
appears to have. Its diving habits have been described above. It 
seldom indulges in swimming, though it can do so if necessary. On 
hot days large numbers may sometimes be seen swimming and 
bathing. 

In life the common tern can not be easily distinguished from the 
Forster's tern, and it still more closely resembles the Arctic tern; 
the movements of all three are almost exactly alike, and the common 
tern is intermediate in color between the other two. Its' voice will 
distinguish it from the former, but not from the latter. Its some- 
what harsh rolling call, " tee ar-r-r-r-r," is almost musical at times 
and has a decidedly pleasing cadence, a tinge of wildness, associated 
with the poetry of summer seas. There is a delightful variety in its 
notes, with the repetition of the same theme, varying in rapidity 
and tone, expressive of its various moods. Doctor Townsend writes 
to me in regard to it : 

I have had them fly directly at my head to within a few feet, when they 
suddenly swerve upward. As they dart down they emit in their rage a rapidly 
repeated and vibratory tut tut or kik kik kik, followed by a piercing, screaming 
tear. These sharp rapidly repeated notes are sometimes followed by a loud 
rattling sound, as if the mandibles were vibrated in anger. 

The Muskeget terns have suffered seriously at times by the intro- 
duction of cats, kept by the life-saving people, which also nearly ex- 
terminated a local species of field mouse {Microtus breweri). Per- 
haps their worst enemy, next to man, has been the short-eared owl. 
A colony of these owls lived on the island, making their home on 
some high grassy knolls, about which hundreds of dead terns lay, 
partly eaten and drying in the sun. Mr. William Brewster (1879) 
has thus described their destructive work : 

Every day at a certain time these owls sallied forth in search of fresh prey. 
We used regularly to see them about sunset, sailing in circles over the island 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORXB: AMERICAN GULLS AlsTD TERNS. 247 

or beating along the crests of the sand hills. They were invariably followed 
by vast mobs of enraged terns, which dived angrily down over the spot where 
the owl had alighted, or strung out in the wake of his flight like the tail of a 
comet. The owl commonly paid little attention to this unbidden following, 
apparently never tried to seize his persecutors while on the wing, but on sev- 
eral occasions we saw a sitting bird pounced upon and borne off. Sometimes 
in the middle of the night a great outcry among the terns told where a tragedy 
was being enacted. 

Fortunately for the terns, but unfortunately for the cause of 
science — for the owls were supposed to be approaching subspecific 
distinction — this little colony of interesting owls was entirely wiped 
out during the summer of 1896, through the misdirected ardor of a 
bird protectionist. Furthermore, as the owls destroyed large num- 
bers of the mice, which probably destroyed many of the eggs of the 
terns, perhaps it would have been better to have left nature's balance 
undisturbed. 

A very large colony of terns at Chatham, Massachusetts, was prac- 
tically exterminated by a colony of skunks in 1917 and 1918. 

Dr. Townsend writes : 

The common tern appears to be one of the favorite victims of jaegers, but the 
worm sometimes turns and chases the jaeger in return. Once in mid-August, 
on the Maine coast, I found a common tern chasing a male sharp-sninned 
hawk. The latter twisted and turned, but was unable to escape his adversary 
until he took refuge in an alder thicket, around which the tern flew screaming 
in anger. 

Dr. Louis B. Bishop sends me the following interesting notes on 
the behavior of terns on an island in Stump Lake, North Dakota. He 
says : 

On the third island we found the terns killing the young ring-billed gulls by 
chasing them till they took to the water, then descending on their heads in a 
perfect shower, striking at the back of their heads until they had pierced their 
brains. We saw three killed in this manner in less than half an hour, two more 
before we left, and many bodies of those killed before. The old gulls seemed 
to pay no attention to them. 

I remember it as if it were yesterday. Eastgate and I had seated ourselves 
on the bank of the high island, and the adult gulls had gone offshore. Sud- 
denly we noticed the terns screaming loudly and diving at something in the 
high weeds. Wondering what was the matter we watched, and soon saw a 
young gull make its way to the water with the terns diving at it. When 
it swam from shore the terns simply rained on it. The gull was, I think, just 
out of down. As the terns descended, the little gull tried to strike back, but 
presently a tern struck it on the back of the head, and its head fell to one side. 
Soon it came to life again, when the terns again descended until its head fell 
to rise no more. Then the terns left it to chase up others. We tried to save 
some of these young gulls by shooting the terns that were attacking them, 
but to no avail ; the other terns paid no attention to those who were killed, or 
to the reports of the gun. They were more anxious to kill the young gulls than 
to save their own lives. We picked up several of the young gulls thus killed, 
and the backs of their heads, where merely a membrane covers the brain at 
this age, looked like pincushions. The only explanation I could think of was 
174785—21 17 



248 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

that the adult gulls ate the terns' eggs and young, and the later were taking 
their first chance to retaliate. This theory was strengthened by the fact that 
we did not find nearly as many young terns as there ought to have been 
with a colony as large as this. 

Fall, — As soon as the young are able to fly, usually in August, 
many of the terns desert their breeding grounds and wander about 
the shores in loose scattering flocks, free from the arduous cares 
of reproduction, to spend the remainder of the season in rest and 
recreation. They are still largely gregarious and may be seen resting 
on the sand bars or sandy beaches in large compact flocks, all facing 
the wind. Some may be bathing in the shallow waters or preening 
their immaculate plumage, while others stand and sleep with bills 
buried under the scapulars. As the rising tide encroaches on their 
roosting ground those nearest the water are forced to rise, and 
flying over their fellows, to alight above them on the sand. Birds 
are constantly coming and going, making an animated scene of 
lively interest. Their summer wanderings are often extended over 
long distances in search of food. Large numbers of terns are seen 
daily, flying high in the air over Cape Cod to their favorite feeding 
grounds in Massachusetts Bay, spending the day on the sandy beaches 
near Plymouth and returning each night to their breeding grounds 
south of Cape Cod, 25 or 30 miles distant. The fall migration be- 
gins on the coast of Maine by the middle or last of September. In 
Massachusetts there are a few scattering winter records, but as a rule 
they begin to leave early in October, and by the end of that month 
nearly all of the common terns are gone. Winter records along the 
Atlantic coast seem to be scarce north of Florida, and probably 
most of the common terns spend the winter from the Gulf of Mexico 
southward. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Along the Atlantic coast of North America from 
northern Nova Scotia (Cape Breton) south to North Carolina 
(Pamlico Sound) ; and in the interior, south to the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence, the St. Lawrence River, northern Ohio (Oberlin and 
islands in western Lake Erie), southeastern Michigan (St. Clair 
Flats), southern Minnesota (Heron Lake), northern North Dakota 
(Devil's Lake region), and southwestern Saskatchewan (Crane Lake 
region). West to southeastern Alberta (Many Island Lake) and 
central Alberta (near Edmonton). North nearly, if not quite, to the 
Arctic coast of Mackenzie, certainly to Great Slave Lake (Fort 
Providence) and the west coast of Hudson Bay. A few birds breed 
in Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Florida keys, on the coast of 
Venezuela (Aruba and Bonaire Islands) and on the coasts of Ala- 
bama, Louisiana, and Texas (Matagorda). In Europe, from Nor- 
way to the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas, in the Azores. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULES AND TERNS. 249 

Canary, and Madeira Islands ; in northern Africa and in temperate 
Asia, from Turkestan to Lake Baikal. 

Winter range. — A few birds winter as far north as Florida (St. 
Johns River), but the main winter range is in South America, all 
along both coasts, as far south as the Straits of Magellan. In the 
Eastern Hemisphere, Africa, ranging to the Cape, and southern 
Asia. 

Spring migration. — Early dates of arrival: Masaschusetts, April 
20 to 25 ; St. Lawrence River, May 20 ; Pennsylvania, Erie, April 26 ; 
Ohio, Columbus, April 4; South Dakota, April 20; Colorado, New 
Windsor, May 14 ; California, Point Pinos, April 29. Late dates of 
departure : Brazil, Barra, May 1 ; Chile, Valparaiso, April 23 ; Peru, 
Ancon, May 10. 

Fall migration. — Early dates of arrival : Argentina, Mar del Plata, 
September 18 ; Chile, Valparaiso, September 17 ; Straits of Magellan, 
Punta Arenas, November 19. Late dates of departure: Massachu- 
setts, Barnstable, November 14, and Woods Hole, December 2 ; Penn- 
sylvania, Erie, September 26 ; Ohio, Cincinnati, November 11 ; British 
Columbia, Comox, September 24; California, Point Pinos, October 
17 ; Lower California, San Jose del Cabo, September 30. 

Egg dates. — North Dakota, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba : Thirty- 
six records, May 31 to July 15 ; eighteen records, June 11 to 21. Vir- 
ginia : Thirty-five records, May 27 to July 19 ; eighteen records, June 
11 to 27. Maine: Twenty-one records, May 29 to July 26; eleven 
records, June 14 to July 4. 

STERNA PARADISAEA Briinnich. 
ARCTIC TERN. 

HABITS. 

Contributed by Charles Wendell Totonsend. 

The casual observer, fascinated by the sight of a flock of graceful 
terns diving for fish on the New England coast, naturalty supposes 
they are all of one kind, and is told they are mackerel gulls. The 
ornithologist enjoys the same esthetic charm in the sight, but has 
often the added intellectual pleasure of discovering several distinct 
species in the flock. Common terms are generally in the majority 
but arctic and roseate terns may also be seen, as well as least and 
black terns. It would be difficult to point out to the untrained ob- 
server the differences between the common and arctic terns, but they 
can be recognized -with a little practice and without the use of the 
gun. The feeding and nesting habits, mode of flight, size, and 
general appearance of these two species are, however, very much 
alike. 

The Arctic tern breeds throughout the entire circumpolar regions 
as far north as it can find land, and south in this country to northern 



250 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

British Columbia, Great Slave Lake, Central Keewatin, Maine, and 
Muskegat Island, Massachusetts. It is credited by Cook (1911) 
with being " the world's migration champion." After the breeding 
season is over the bird repairs from the Arctic to the Antarctic 
regions. " What their track is over that 11,000 miles of intervening 
space no one knows," says Cooke (1911). 

A few scattered individuals have been noted along the United States coast 
south to Long Island, but the great flocks of thousands and thousands of these 
terns which alternate from one pole to the other have never been met by any 
trained ornithologist competent to learn their preferred path and their time 
schedule. The Arctic terns arrive in the far north about June 15 and leave 
about August 25, thus staying 14 weeks at the nesting site. They probably 
spend a few weeks longer in the winter than in the summer home and, if so, 
this leaves them scarcely 20 weeks for the round trip of 22,000 miles. Not 
less than 150 miles in a straight line must be their daily task, and this is 
undoubtedly multiplied several times by their zigzag twisting and turning 
in pursuit of food. 

The Arctic terns have more hours of daylight and sunlight than any other 
animal on the globe. At their most northern nesting site the midnight sun has 
already appeared before their arrival, and it never sets during their entire 
stay at the breeding grounds. During two months of their sojourn in the Ant- 
arctic they do not see a sunset, and for the rest of the time the sun dips only 
a little way below the horizon and broad daylight continues all night. The 
birds therefore, have 24 hours of daylight for at least eight months in the year, 
and during the other four months have considerably more daylight than 
darkness. 

Spring. — The most southern breeding place of the Arctic tern 
seems to have been Muskegat Isle, off Nantucket. Mackay (1897) 
gives the earliest date for the arrival of terns at this island as May 
3, in 1897. The day before no terns were to be seen, while on the 
third they arrived "in large flocks, thousands dropping from the 
sky when they were first observed." The larger part of these were 
common and roseate terns, but he found a few Arctic terns breeding. 
When I visited this island in 1913 about 20,000 common terns, 1,000 
roseate terns, and 3,000 laughing gulls were breeding, and I feel 
fairly sure that I saw a couple of Arctic terns, so there is a possibility 
that they still breed there. They were found breeding at Beverly in 
1846 by Cabot (1846) and at Ipswich between 1868 and 1870 by 
Maynard (1870). They no longer breed there. On the Maine coast 
the Arctic tern, like the common tern, has steadily increased in num- 
bers under protection since its low ebb due to the war of the milliners 
in the late nineties. Its chief breeding grounds there, according to 
Knight (1908), are Metinic, Green, Machias Seal Islands, and Mati- 
nicus Eock, where it nests with the common tern. It arrives from 
the south from the middle to the last of May. Its arrival on the 
southern coast of Labrador is at about the same time. Turner 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 55 




Chatham, Massachusetts. 



A.C. Bent. 




Yukon Delta. Alaska. 



Arctic Tern. 

For description see page 335. 



F. S. Hersey, 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 251 

(1886) says that this tern is one of the earliest birds to arrive at 'St. 
Michael, Alaska. 

The earliest date recorded was April 25„ a very early season, showing that 
the terns only await the movement of the sea ice to appear in any locality. 
They become very abundant by the middle of May. 

Murdoch (1885) reports that the tern arrives at Point Barrow, 
Alaska, about June 10. 

Nesting. — The Arctic tern prefers to breed in colonies of its own 
species, but it is not rare to find a few common terns in these colonies 
or to find a colony composed largely of common terns with a few 
arctic terns. In Alaska they are often associated with Aleutian terns. 
Turner (1886) says their nests are sometimes placed within 2 feet 
of each other, and apparently without causing animosity between the 
species. Sandy or rocky islands are usually chosen, and the nests 
are scattered more or less thickly over the ground. Grinnell (1900) 
states that in Alaska he did not find the bird in colonies, as two nests 
were seldom within a hundred yards of each other ; usually only one 
pair were found at a pond. Small islets were often selected, but he 
occasionally found this species nesting on the tundra a quarter of a 
mile from the nearest lake. 

Nelson (1883) says: 

Along both shores of Bering Sea and upon both shores of the adjoining Arctic 
waters this bird is very common. It nests wherever found in this region, and 
occurs indifferently either in the interior along the courses of the rivers, or on 
the salt marshes and barren islands on the seacoast. * * * It nests on some 
of the sterile islands of the North, in flocks, upon the bare sandy or pebbly 
ground, with no trace of any artificial nest. * * * On the eastern shore of 
Bering Sea I have only found it nesting singly, in pairs scattered here and there 
over the marshes, and in one instance three pairs were found occupying the same 
small island in a lake, which is the largest number I found nesting in close 
proximity. 

This goes to show, as he says, " that the birds' habits vary greatly 
with the locality." Hinckley (1900) found the Arctic tern nesting 
along the Sushitna and Kuskokwim Rivers " even in high mountain 
valleys." Turner (1886) says: 

They breed in the low grounds, preferably a low, damp island, such as those 
at the northern end of the canal. At this place hundreds of nests were dis- 
covered in 1876. 

Feilden (1877) found several pairs of Arctic terns breeding in 
latitude 81° 44' on Bellots Island, on August 21. The land was cov- 
ered with snow, and from one nest, in which was a newly hatched tern, 
the parents had thrown out the snow so that the nest was surrounded 
by a border marked by their feet 2 inches above the general level. 

The Arctic tern is more inclined to omit nesting material than is 
the common tern, and its nest is generally merely a hollow in the 



252 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

sand, gravel, or moss or in the rocks. Occasionally a thin lining of 
dry grasses is used, but an elaborate nest is rarely or never seen. 
Turner (1886) says: 

The nest is merely a bare spot on the ground. Sometimes a few blades of 
grass surround the margin of the nest, but these seem to be more the result of 
cleaning off a bare spot than an attempt to construct a nest. 

Palmer (1890), who found this the only species of tern at Funk 
Island, says that the eggs were laid on the bare rocks, often with 
broken pieces of granite or pebbles sometimes gathered from a dis- 
tance arranged about them in a circle. In some cases he found bones 
of the great auk used in the same manner. Occasionally the eggs 
were laid in depressions in the gravel, among mussel shells, in crev- 
ices, amid tangled masses of chickweed 6 inches high that was dead, 
in a circle 5 inches about; also in depressions in dead grass as if a 
mouse's nest had been appropriated. McGregor (1902) says : 

A typical nest was a depression 1 inch deep by 5 inches in diameter, lined 
with dry grass and weed stalks. 

Parry (1824) says: 

The nest in which the eggs are deposited, and each of which generally con- 
tained two, consisted merely of a small indentation in the ground, without any 
downy feathers or other material. 

[Author's note: Eggs. — The Arctic tern raises only one brood 
in a season and the set usually consists of two eggs ; three eggs are 
often laid, but larger numbers are very rare. A very large majority, 
or nearly all, of the sets collected in the far north consist of two eggs. 
The eggs can not be distinguished from those of the common tern 
by any constant or even prevailing character, though they seem to 
average a trifle darker in color and more rounded in shape, which 
varies from ovate to rounded ovate. The ground color varies 
greatly ; in the darkest eggs it is " Brussels brown " or " Dresden 
brown " ; in others it is " Saccardo's olive," " ecru olive," or " dark 
olive buff " ; and in the lightest egg " water green " or " pale olive 
buff." The eggs are more or less irregularly spotted or blotched with 
the darker shades of brown, such as " chaetura black," " bone brown," 
or " chestnut brown," and often there are underlying spots of vari- 
ous shades of " brownish drab " or " ecru drab." The measurements 
of 123 eggs in the United States National Museum average 41 by 
29.5 millimeters ; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 46 by 
32 and 37 by 27 millimeters. 

Plumages. — The period of incubation is probably about 21 days. 
Both sexes incubate. The downy young of the Arctic tern may be 
distinguished from that of any other American tern by the black or 
dusky frontal space, which includes the lores and extends across the 
base of the bill. This dark area matches in color the dark-colored 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 56 




Matinicus Rock, Maine. 



H. K. Job. 




Matinicus Rock, Maine. 



Arctic Tern. 

For description see page 335. 



H. K. Job. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 253 

throat, which varies from " dusky drab " to nearly black. The 
breast is pure white, becoming more grayish posteriorly. The upper 
parts show at least two distinct color phases, both of which are 
sometimes found in one brood. In the brown phase the head, back, 
and wings vary from " cinnamon " to " pinkish buff." In the gray 
phase these parts are " pale drab gray " or " pale smoke gray," shad- 
ing off gradually into the white or pakr color of the under parts. In 
both phases the head is distinctly spotted and the back is heavily 
mottled or variegated with "fuscous" or black; the markings are 
usually blacker in the brown phase than in the gray. The plumage 
appears first on the wings and scapulars, then on the sides of the 
breast, and the last of the down is seen on the head. 

The juvenal plumage is fully acquired by the time the young bird 
is fully grown. In this plumage the forehead and crown are grayish, 
the latter mottled with black, which increases on the auriculars and 
occiput to practically solid black. The back and wings are " deep 
gull gray," each feather of the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts 
being edged with pale buffy, with a subterminal dusky band and 
fine dusky sprinkling; these markings are most conspicuous on the 
scapulars. The tertials, secondaries, and inner primaries are 
broadly edged with white. There is considerable dusky and some 
pale buff near the ends of the tail feathers. The under parts are 
white, washed with pale brownish tints on the throat, breast, and 
sides. This plumage seems to be worn until the birds leave in 
September, but it is probably partially molted in the fall to produce 
the first winter plumage, which is similar to the adult. Subsequent 
molts and plumages are apparently similar to those of the common 
tern, including the portlandica plumage.] 

Food. — The food of the arctic tern is the same as that of the other 
terns found in the same region, and consists chiefly of small fish, 
such as capelins, and sand eels or sand launces, and the fry of 
larger fish. Small crustaceans are also eaten. The method of cap- 
ture is the same as in the case of the other terns. Scanning the 
water with down-turned head and bill from a height of 30 or 40 
feet, this little tern falls with the speed of an arrow, strikes the 
water with a splash, and often disappears completely below the sur- 
face in order to capture its prey. As it rises from the water it 
shakes its plumage vigorously, and the fish may be seen hanging 
from the bill. Occasionally it throws the fish into the air either 
for pure fun or to get a better hold. Sometimes the tern drops the 
fish but catches it again before it has fallen more than a yard or 
two. The presence of the fish in the bill never interferes with the 
capacity of the bird to scream or cry out. In fact the fish bearer 
generally screams constantly as if to announce its success in the 
chase. 



254 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Behavior. — I have known them to fly directly at my head to within 
a few feet, when they suddenly swerve upwards. As they dart 
down they emit in their rage a rapidly repeated and vibratory tut tut 
or kik, kik, kik, followed by a piercing, screaming tearr, which is 
shriller than that of the common terns and ends in a rising inflec- 
tion, which has been well characterized by Brewster (1883) as 
" sounding very like the squeal of a pig." He says " the bird also 
has a short, harsh note similar to that of Forster's tern." Grinnell 
(1900) says that the teasing cries of the young "closely resemble 
the usual note of the white-throated swift in California." 

The Arctic tern, like the common tern, kittiwake, and others, is 
frequently harassed by the various species of jaegers, and after 
much twisting and turning is forced to drop the fish, which is at 
once snapped up by its pursuer. Although terns frequently quarrel 
among themselves, the various species often rest peaceably together. 
The former pernicious practices which led to the almost complete 
annihilation of terns for millinery purposes have already been de- 
scribed at length under the common tern. It is fortunate that these 
days of slaughter are passed. The increase of terns along the New 
England coast in the last 10 or 15 years has been very marked. In 
regions where game laws are but little understood or regarded the 
killing of such easy victims as terns still goes on. I have seen on 
the Labrador coast both common and Arctic terns that had been shot 
to feed captive black foxes. 

Dutcher (1903) quotes Norton in regard to mortality among the 
young of the Arctic tern on the Maine coast as follows: 

Abundant as they were living, I noticed quite an extensive mortality among 
the downy young, and their decaying bodies were scattered over the island. 
There was no visible cause, but two things suggested themselves — one an 
epidemic ; the other that the damp, cold summer just passed had not supplied 
sufficient warmth and sunlight to keep them from being chilled. 

In another place (1905) he quotes Capt. James Hall, of Matinicus 
Rock, Maine, as expressing " the belief that food is scarce and starva- 
tion is the cause of much death late in the summer." Palmer (1890) 



In no other species of bird with whose breeding habits I am familiar has 
nature been so prodigal of life as in the case of the young terns on Funk Island. 
The surface of the granite rock of the island has been corroded by time and 
the elements to such a degree that many shallow depressions have been rotted 
as it were. These have been filled with water by the abundant, rain and lorn* 
veritable death traps to the young terns. Many of them leave the nest when 
a few days old and wander about. Numbers are thus lost among the rocks 
and drowned while trying to get back to their parents. This explanation *eems 
to me to account for the numbers of dead young found in the pools. 

It is possible, however, there may be some other explanation, for 
young terns are expert swimmers. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL, 57 




Chatham, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 




i*-*WMB*€i 






Matinicus Rock, Maine. 



Arctic Tern. 

For description see page 335. 



H. K. Job. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 255 
DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Circumpolar. In North America, south on the 
Atlantic coast to Massachusetts (Muskeget Island) ; in the interior 
south to the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Magdalen Islands), southern 
Quebec (Point de Monts), southern Mackenzie (Great Slave Lake), 
southern Yukon (Pelly Lakes and Lake Tagish), and southeastern 
Alaska (Taku Inlet). The coasts and islands of Bering Sea south 
to the Aleutian and Commander Islands. North to the Arctic coasts 
of North America and in the Arctic Archipelago north to 82° north 
latitude in King Oscar Land, Grant Land, and northern Greenland. 
In the Eastern Hemisphere, north to 82° north latitude. South in 
Europe to 50° north latitude; and in Asia to 52° north latitude. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reserva- 
tions : In Alaska, Aleutian Islands, as Amchitka, Near Islands, Range 
Island, Semichi. 

Winter range. — Antarctic Ocean, south to 74° south latitude, Wed- 
dell Sea, and probably Ross's Sea (off Victoria Land, 76° 52' S). 
Northern limit of winter range unknown. 

Spring migration. — Northward along both coasts, often well out at 
sea. Early dates of arrival : Massachusetts, March 20 to 31 ; Davis 
Strait, 66° north, April 12 ; Wellington Channel, June 13 ; Greenland, 
81° 30' north, June 16; Washington, Crescent Lake, April 15 ; Alaska, 
St. Michael, April 25 to May 16, and Demarcation Point, May 31. 

Fall migration. — Southward over same routes. Early dates of 
arrival : California, Point Pinos, August 4 ; Peru, Santa Lucia, Sep- 
tember 19 ; Chile, Arica, October 4 ; Argentina, Mar del Plata, Octo- 
ber 21. Late dates of departure : Greenland, 81° 30' north, August 26, 
and Disco, September 5 ; Wellington Channel, August 29 ; Franklin, 
Winter Harbor, September 5 ; Keewatin, York Factory, August 28 ; 
Ungava, Koksoak River, September 15 ; New York, Saratoga, Octo- 
ber 8 ; Massachusetts, Cape Cod, October 24 to November 9 ; Alaska, 
Point Barrow, September 9; British Columbia, Okanagan Landing, 
October. 

Casual records. — Accidental in the interior, where records are 
none too well established. Wisconsin records (Lake Koshkonong, 
breeding, June 1891 ; Kelley Brook, September 21, 1897, and Milton, 
May 27, 1899) seem to be authentic. Recorded twice in Hawaii 
(May 9, 1891, and April 30, 1902). 

Egg dates. — Northern Mackenzie : Thirty-two records, June 14 to 
July 16 ; sixteen records, June 23 to July 5. Maine and Nova Scotia : 
Twenty-six records, June 8 to July 21; thirteen records, June 15 
to 23. Alaska : Twenty -two records, May 4 to July 1 ; eleven records, 
June 14 to 27. 



256 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

STERNA DOUGALLI Montagu. 

BOSEATE TERN. 

HABITS. 

I shall never forget the thrill of pleasure I experienced when I 
held in my hand, for the first time, a freshly killed roseate tern and 
admired with deepest reverence the delicate refinement of one of 
nature's loveliest productions. The softest colors of the summer 
sky were reflected on its back and pointed wings, while its breast 
glowed with the faint blush of some rare seashell. The graceful 
outlines, the spotless purity of its delicate plumage, and the long 
tapering tail feathers made it seem like some ethereal spirit of the 
heavens which it was sacrilege for human hands to touch. 

Having been always intimately associated on our Atlantic coast 
with the common tern, it has suffered with that species in the perse- 
cution inflicted on these birds by hunters for the millinery trade. 
It was everywhere threatened with extermination, and became ex- 
tirpated in many localities until its range was much restricted. It 
formerly bred as far east as Maine, and even Nova Scotia, as recently 
as in 1912, but I believe it is no longer common north of Cape Cod. 
It seems to have disappeared soon after 1890 from the coasts of 
New Jersey and Virginia, where it was once abundant. It has 
profited, however, from the protection afforded the terns in favored 
localities, and is now increasing on the Massachusetts coast and else- 
where. 

Spring. — Audubon (1840) first saw this species in the Florida 
Keys, where he was told that it arrives about the 10th of April. 
Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway (1884) give the following interesting 
account of its arrival on Faulkner's Island in Long Island Sound: 

It makes its appearance about the 15th of May, seldom varying three days 
from this date. At first six or eight of these birds are seen well up in the air. 
These hover over the islaDd a while and then disappear. The next day the 
same individuals return, with an addition of 12 or more to their number; but 
none of them alight on the island until the third or fourth day. After this, if 
nothing disturbs them, their number increases very fast. 

Its arrival on Muskeget Island, Massachusetts, is thus described by 
Mr. George H. Mackay (1895) : 

As far as I am aware Sterna Mrundo and $. dougalli first make their appear- 
ance in Muskeget waters any time after the first week in May, and they are 
remarkably constant in the time of appearing. In 1892 they arrived on May 10, 
in flocks of fifty or more, drifting sideways before a heavy southeast rain- 
storm. In 1893 they arrived on May 8, with light air from the west-northwest 
and clear weather. Twenty were first observed hovering over South Point, 
Muskeget Island, very high in the air. About 5 o'clock p. m. two were observed 
to come quite low down. The next day they were arriving in considerable num- 
bers, flying high during the day time and settling down after sunset. The 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 58 




Muskeget Island, Massachusetts 



A. C. Bent. 




Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. 



Roseate Tern. 

For description see page 335, 



A. C. Bent. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 257 

weather was clear, with a light southwest wind. On the 10th, at sunrise, the 
Wilson's and roseate terns were rising in very large numbers from the northern- 
middle part of Muskeget proper, the weather being clear, with a strong south- 
west wind. On the 11th they continued to increase. There was a strong south- 
west gale during the night, dying out in the forenoon. 

Courtship. — During the last week in May, while the countless 
hordes of terns are gathering on these breeding grounds, the roseate 
terns may be seen flying about in pairs or chasing each other in the 
air, with their long slender tail feathers streaming behind; or, in 
the dense flocks, resting and sunning themselves on the beach, their 
simple courtship may be seen. Both birds show their interest in each 
other by stretching their necks upward and strutting about with 
drooping wings and elevated tails; or standing side by side they 
exchange greetings. Finally the accepted suitor mounts his mate 
and stands squarely upon her back for a long time, with frequent 
interlocking of bills. The nuptial caress is most deliberate; and 
after it is over they stand close together, billing and cooing and 
preening each other's plumage. 

Nesting. — The finest breeding colonies of roseate terns, so far as I 
know, are at Chatham and on Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. The 
most important of these is on Muskeget Island, a low sandy island 
lying between Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard, which has been 
more fully described under the common tern. On my various visits 
to this island I have always found roseate terns nesting here abund- 
antly, although they have always been far outnumbered by the com- 
mon tern. The nests of the common tern were scattered in various 
situations all over the island, and occasionally a few nests of roseate 
terns were found among them, but the main stronghold of the 
roseate terns was on the southern extremity of the island, separated 
from the main island by a long, narrow beach; here, except for a 
few scattering pairs of common terns, the whole population was 
made up of roseates. We determined this fact to our own satisfac- 
tion by trapping nine of the birds on their nests in snares made of 
very fine steel wire. This usually did not injure the birds at all, as 
we soon released them. The nests were closely congregated on the 
highest part of the point, particularly along the crest of a little 
ridge which rose abruptly from the beach. They were mostly well 
concealed in the thick growth of tall beach grass {Ammophila 
arundinacea) , which grew luxuriantly at this end of the island. 
Some of the nests were hidden among the poison-ivy vines {Rhus 
radicans), or under the shade of herbaceous plants. Often the nests 
were arched over with the tall grass, having pathways leading to 
them, and almost always they were more or less under cover, in 
marked contrast to the nests of the common tern, which were always 
in open places. In many cases the eggs were laid on the bare sand, 



258 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

but generally a scanty nest was formed by scraping together a few 
pieces of dry grass or rubbish to partially line a slight hollow in the 
sand. The method we employed for identifying the nests is the 
only sure way in a locality like this ; it is seldom possible to see one 
of the birds sitting on its nest; for, as Mr. Mackay (1895) says: 

The alarm is given from bird to bird until it reaches those at the farthest 
end, who hasten to lend their vocal aid in driving off their common enemy, 
thus rendering it impossible to come to any conclusion regarding any particular 
nest and eggs. I have had roseates dart down at me and show every demon- 
stration of anger and solicitude when I have been examining a Wilson's tern's 
nest and eggs, the identification of which I felt sure. I have also had the same 
experience with Wilson's tern as the assailant when I have been busy over a 
roseate's nest and eggs. It must not therefore always be assumed that the 
solicitous bird is the owner. As far as my observation shows I should say that 
not only do roseate and Wilson's terns lay their eggs indiscriminately at times 
in each other's nests, but also care for each other's young and make united 
battle against intruders. 

On Penikese and Weepecket Islands the roseate terns nest mostly 
in the beach grass, poison ivy, and rank herbage on the higher parts 
of the islands, where their nests are well hidden. In the summer of 
1915 I visited a large and populous colony, consisting of many thou- 
sand pairs of common and roseate terns, which had recently been es 
tablished near the extremity of Nauset Beach, on the mainland of 
Cape Cod, near Chatham, Mass. This is probably an over- 
flow from the Muskeget colony. Here the roseate terns were nesting 
under similar conditions to those noted on Muskeget, mainly on the 
ridges or sand dunes heavily overgrown with beach grass, but sur- 
rounded by common terns nesting in the open. On Faulkner's Isl- 
and, in Long Island Sound, Baird, Brewer, and Eidgway (1884) say : 

While some gather a few dry weeds or a little dry seaweed, others make 
only a hollow in the sand; and some deposit their eggs on the stones without 
any nest at all. 

Audubon (1840) found them breeding in considerable numbers 
along the shores of southern Florida. He writes : 

At different times in the course of nearly three months which I spent among 
the keys I saw flocks of 20, 30, or more pairs, breeding on small detached 
rocky islands, scantily furnished with grass, and in the company of hundreds 
of Sandwich terns. The two species appeared to agree well together, and 
their nests were intermingled. The full number of eggs of the present species 
is three. * * * They were deposited on the bare rocks, among the roots of 
the grasses, and left in fair weather to the heat of the sun. Like those of 
the common tern and other species they are delicious eating. The eggs of the 
Sandwich tern were more attended to during the day, but toward night botr 
species sat on their eggs. 

In the Bahamas and West Indies they seem to nest in open situa- 
tions, with Cabot's and Sooty terns, laying their eggs in hollows 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 59 




Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent 




Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 



Roseate Tern. 

For description see page 335. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 259 

in the sand, on bare ground, or on rocks without any attempt at con- 
cealment or at nest building. 

Eggs. — Some observers suggest that the roseate and common terns 
raise two broods in a season; fresh eggs are often found late in 
August, but these are probably laid by birds that have failed to raise 
their first broods. The usual set consists of two eggs ; three are fre- 
quently found in a nest and rareljr four. The larger sets often^ 
though not always, show evidence of having been deposited by more 
than one bird. 

The eggs of the roseate tern are similar to, and often indistin- 
guishable from, those of the other small terns ; but when a large series 
is compared with others the average difference is well marked. 
They will average a trifle longer and the markings are smaller 
and more evenly distributed, with fewer of the large bold mark- 
ings when compared with a series of eggs of the common tern. 
There is less variation in the ground color, which ranges from 
" cream buff " to " cartridge buff " or " pale olive buff." The darker 
and richer colors of other terns' eggs are seldom, if ever, seen in this 
species. A majority of the eggs are evenly sprinkled with small spots 
or dots over the entire surface, either with or without an occasional 
larger spot ; these spots are seldom large enough to be called blotches 
and never as large and conspicuous as they are on the eggs of the 
common tern. These markings are in the darker shades of brown 
from " warm sepia " to " dark clove brown." There are often numer- 
ous spots of various shades of violet, plumbeous or lavender gray, 
underlying the darker markings. In shape the eggs vary from 
ovate to elongate ovate, usually quite pointed. The shell is 
smooth, thin, and without luster. The measurements of 87 eggs, 
in the United States National Museum, average 42 by 30 milli- 
meters ; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 45.5 by 31, 43.5 
by 32, 38 by 30, and 44 by 27.5 millimeters. 

The exact period of incubation was found to be 21 days by Prof. 
Lynds Jones (1906), who has also given us (1903) a good account of 
the process, as follows : 

In two cases that were under careful observation for some time both parents 
performed the office of incubation in regular turn. The one that I judged to 
be the female brooded the eggs, tucking them carefully under her feathers, 
but the male merely stood above them, apparently shielding them from the 
burning sun, while the female went for a lunch and bath. The incoming bird 
uttered a peculiar rattling sound just before alighting some 20 feet from the 
nest, when the brooding bird got up and immediately flew away. The relief 
carelessly sauntered toward the nest, made believe picking up food when it 
reached the nest, then stood over it a moment before settling down, if the fe- 
male. Neither bird remained on the nest over an hour ; the male usually less 
than 40 minutes, not waiting for the female to appear every time before leaving. 



260 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Young. — In the same paper Mr, Jones gives us the results of his 
observations on the behavior of the young terns in the following 
words : 

There is no uniformity in the development of the instinct to assume protec- 
tive attitudes. With some young there is no evidence of such an instinct 
while they remain in the nest, while with others there seems to be almost as 
soon as the shell is cast. All of the young from the beginning of the pin- 
feathers gave evidence of the instinct well developed. Some young left the 
nest two days after hatching; some remained for four days. When partly 
feathered birds on the uplands were taken from their hiding places in the grass 
or bushes their tendency was to try to run away instead of hiding again when 
replaced on the ground. Those on the beach treated the same way would in- 
variably take to the water if not prevented. Even the young upon which the 
pinfeathers were barely showing frequently took to the water and swam 
readily. In hiding the birds were content to emulate the ostrich, hiding only 
the head and often leaving the whole body exposed. They were always careful, 
however, to keep the white underparts well concealed. 

Unlike the gulls, the terns do not swallow the food and then regurgitate for 
the young, but carry the fish in the beak directly to the young. 
After studying the feeding process at close range for some time I be- 
came convinced that the old birds do not stuff the fish down the throat of 
the young, but only thrust its head into the mouth far enough for the throat 
muscles to grip it, when the young bird swallows for himself. The sand launce 
(Ammodytes americanus) was the chief fish food, probably because it is so soft 
and easily digested. A 4-inch fish could not manage to get wholly inside a 
4-inch bird, so the tail was left sticking out for future consumption. Even with 
the young able to fly the fish's head rested in the primitive gizzard, while the 
tail was scarcely more than concealed in the throat. Mr. Field induced one 
Muskeget young common tern to part with his dinner of two young herrings 
and one sand launce. Usually but a single fish was found in the digestive 
tract of the young. 

The downy young merely raised their heads and opened their mouths for 
food, when very hungry uttering a faint peep, but the young ones able to 
fly were made to dance for their dinner. With widely gaping mouth and 
wings held akimbo, they executed a surprisingly fine clog to their own piercing 
music. In one case a young bird called for lunch just 20 minutes after receiving 
a good-sized fish. He was not fed, however, until half an hour after his last 
lunch. I have repeatedly seen the old birds swallow three and four sand 
launces in rapid succession. This colony of 1,500 old birds and their 1,500 
young must consume great quantities of the sand launce, yet the supply does 
not seem to diminish. 

It was interesting to watch the old birds come in with a fish dangling from 
the beak. As it passed close along the beach each young bird in turn clamored 
for the morsel. When the old bird approached the place where its young had 
been last seen it skimmed above the stones, halting now and then before a 
particularly vociferous youngster, then either passed on or circled back to 
look farther, finally either finding its own young or going to another place 
where another young had been left. I was eager to know how the old birds 
could recognize their own offspring among the multitude which looked exactly 
alike to me. It seemed incredible that they depended upon sight, or why 
should they almost actually touch the young each time before deciding the- 
matter? I was forced to the conclusion that the sense of smell must play an : 
important part in the final determination. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 60 




Weepecket Island, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 




Weepecket Island, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 



Roseate Tern. 

For description see page 335. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN" GULLS AND TERNS. 261 

Later in the season young birds were seen following the old birds to where 
they fished, all the while loudly calling for food. I was prepared to see the 
morsel delivered while the birds were still flying, after the manner of the 
swallow, but it was never so done. The young, at least, must first rest upon 
the water or land, then the old usually settled for the moment of the delivery, 
the young bird, first shaking his feathers well before rising and following. 
During the second week in August young birds were to be seen and heard about 
Great Harbor and Penzance, but none appeared to be fishing for themselves. 
Up to this time, there appeared no evidence that either the old or young had 
begun to molt. 

Plumages. — The downy young of the roseate tern can be readily 
distinguished from the young of the other species, with which it is 
associated, by certain well-marked characters. Its general appear- 
ance is more grizzly, more finely and evenly sprinkled with smaller 
spots, whereas the young common and arctic terns are more boldly 
spotted with a more conspicuous pattern. The texture of the down 
is more hair-like, particularly on the heads, necks, and throats of 
the younger birds. In this respect and in the texture of the down 
on the back there is a striking resemblance to the young chick of the 
royal tern. In the newly hatched chick the downy feathers of the 
back and wings stand out separately, round and fluffy at the base, 
but tapering to a fine point at the tip. There are at least two distinct 
color phases in the downy young, brown and gray; in the brown 
phase the color varies from " pinkish buff " or " cream buff " in the 
youngest birds, to "cinnamon buff" or "chamois" in older birds; 
in the gray phase the color varies from "pallid neutral gray" to 
" pale neutral gray " ; in both phases the upper parts, including the 
throat, sides of the neck, and flanks, are uniformly and thickly 
spotted with small spots of "dark neutral gray" or dull black. 
Only the central under parts are white. The dusky throat of the 
young common tern is replaced by a pale grayish area or one uni- 
form in color with the upper parts. Another distinctive character 
is the color of the feet ; whereas in young common and arctic terns 
these are in light shades of flesh color, reddish, or orange, in the 
young roseate they are much darker, "russet vinaceous" in the 
youngest, to " sorghum brown " or " Hay's brown " in older birds, 
and finally darkening to dull black in large downies and juvenals. 

The first plumage appears on the scapulars when the young bird 
is half grown. In the brown phase this is a rich " clay color " ; in 
the gray phase it is pale buff. The wings are the next to become 
feathered. The juvenal, or first, plumage is unlike that of the com- 
mon tern; it is more boldly and conspicuously marked with black 
and white ; the feathers of the back, scapulars, and tertials are sub- 
terminally barred with brownish black or heavily marked with 
U-shaped or V-shaped spots of the same; the scapulars and tertials 
have several such markings or a variegated pattern of them. When 



262 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



the plumage is fresh these feathers are broadly margined or tipped 
with " pinkish buff," but this color fades out to white. Often these 
buffy areas are finely sprinkled with dusky; the outer tail feather 
on each side is unmarked, but the others are more or less dusky 
near the tips. In the ju venal plumage young roseate terns have 
faintly rosy breasts and black or blackish feet, whereas in young 
common terns the breasts are white and the feet pale flesh color or 
dull reddish. The change into the first winter plumage, early in the 
fall, is accomplished by a partial molt of the body feathers. Early 
in the spring a complete prenuptial molt takes place, at which all 
of the mottled feathers disappear, the black cap is assumed, and 
most young birds become indistinguishable from adults. I have 
never seen a " portlandica " plumage in this species. 

Adults have a complete postnuptial molt in August and Septem- 
ber, or later, at which the adult winter plumage is acquired ; the rosy 
breast is replaced by white and the white forehead is assumed. They 
also have a complete prenuptial molt in the early spring which 
produces the full nuptial plumage. 

Food. — In the swift tide rips about the sandy shoals, where the 
voracious bluefish drive the small fry to the surface in great schools, 
the terns find a fruitful feeding ground, for the little fish in their 
attempts to escape from their enemies below only betray themselves 
to the hungry birds above as they huddle together and skip along the 
surface in their fright. Here the terns gather in excited throngs 
and turn the tables by showing the fishermen where to troll for blue- 
fish. In return the fishermen shoot the birds for their plumage or 
rob them of their eggs. So the struggle for existence goes on, and 
the weakest individual— in this case the tiny minnow — always gets 
the worst of it, for at best he can only " jump from the frying pan 
into the fire." Mr. William Brewster (1879) has well described it 
as follows : 

It is an interesting sight to watch the birds collect. A moment before per- 
haps only a few were to be seen, leisurely winnowing their way along the 
shore ; but in an incredibly short space of time the lucky discoverer of a school 
is surrounded by hundreds of his fellows, and a perfect swarm of eager, hungry 
birds poises over the spot. Dozens dash down at once, cleaving the water like 
darts, and, rising again into the air, shake the salt spray from their feathers 
by a single energetic movement, and make ready for a fresh plunge. Every 
bird among them is screaming his shrillest, and the excitement waxes fast and 
furious. Beneath, the bluefish are making the water boil by their savage 
rushes, and there is fun and profit for all save the unfortunate prey. 

The food of the roseate tern consists almost wholly of small fishes, 
but Audubon (1840) found them feeding also on "a kind of small 
molluscous animal which floats near the surface, and bears the name 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 61 




Dry Tort ugas , Florida. 



Paul Bartsch. 




Dry Tortugas, Florida. 



Roseate Tern. 

For description see page 335. 



Paul Bartsch. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 263 

of 'sailor's button.'" Professor Jones (1903) identified the follow- 
ing species of fishes dropped on their breeding grounds : 

Sand launce (Ammodytes americanus), dinner (Tautogolabrus adsperus), 
mullet (Mugil curema), pollock (Pollachius virens), flounder (Pseudopleuro- 
nectes americanus), and young herring (species not determined). Of all the 
food the sand launce comprised not less than 80 per cent. 

Behavior. — The flight of the roseate tern is exceedingly light and 
graceful ; it is the greyhound of its tribe, the longest, slenderest, and 
most highly specialized of the terns. As it floats along, with its long 
tail feathers streaming out behind, it seems to cleave the air with 
the greatest ease and swiftness, like a slender-pointed arrow. Its 
downward plunges into the water for its prey are swift and accurate ; 
it often goes beneath the surface and generally emerges with a 
tiny minnow in its bill. Its shape and movements will generally 
serve to identify it, and if near enough, its black bill is a good 
field mark. 

Its voice, however, is the surest means of identification, for it is 
entirely unlike that of the other terns with which it associates. Its 
alarm note seems entirely out of keeping with its grace and beauty 
of form and color, for it is harsh and grating, a prolonged rasping 
cry, like the syllables " kreck " or " crack " or " kraak," louder and 
on a lower key than the cries of other terns. Mr. Brewster (1879) 
has likened this note of excitement or anger to the sound made 
"by forcibly tearing a strong piece of cotton cloth." He also ob- 
serves that its usual note is " a soft mellow hew-it, repeated at fre- 
quent intervals," which I have recorded in my notes as " kulick," a 
musical note heard on its breeding grounds when undisturbed. 
This is usually in soft conversational tones, mingled with a variety 
of cackling, chattering, and gurgling notes. 

The roseate tern is intimately associated on its breeding grounds 
with the common tern, the laughing gull, the Cabot's tern, and the 
sooty tern in different portions of its range, all of which species 
seem to live with it in reasonable peace and harmony. It is gen- 
erally a peaceful and harmless neighbor, even friendly and sym- 
pathetic at times in helping to care for the young of others. At other 
times it seems to be very pugnacious, attacking and severely mauling 
a strange young one which wanders too near its own young, or 
quarreling with other adults of its own or other species. On Muske- 
get its chief enemy used to be the short-eared owl, a pair of which 
lived on the island and raised havoc among the terns ; the owls were 
finally killed, however, in the cause of bird protection. Cats have 
been brought to the island, where they did so much damage that 
they, too, were removed. Marsh hawks and crows occasionally visit 
the islands and probably kill some young terns. 

174785—21 18 



264 BULLETIN" 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Fall. — By the first or middle of August, when the young birds 
have been taught to fly and fish for themselves, both old and young 
birds begin to move away from their breeding grounds and wander 
about the coasts and islands in search of food, often straying far 
north of their breeding haunts at this season. They often congre- 
gate in large flocks, following the schools of small fish, resting and 
roosting on the sand beaches and sand bars. Their time for depar- 
ture for the south depends on the food supply, but they usually be- 
gin to disappear in October and before the end of the month are 
all gone. They are said to follow the schools of bluefish, or, at least, 
to disappear with them. Their fall migration carries them beyond 
the limits of the United States to their winter quarters in the 
Bahamas, the West Indies, and the coasts of South America. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — In North America, along the Atlantic coast from 
Nova Scotia (Sable and Noddy Islands) locally to New York (Long 
Island and vicinity) ; Florida (Tortugas) ; formerly in New Jer- 
sey and Virginia. Bermuda and Bahama Islands ( Acklin, Eleuthera, 
etc.), the Lesser Antilles (Antigua, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Grenada, 
etc.), and westward to Venezuela (Aruba Island) and British Hon- 
duras. In the Eastern Hemisphere on the coasts of the North Sea 
and Atlantic Ocean from 57° north latitude to the Mediterranean, 
the Azores, Madeira, the coasts of Africa, Madagascar, Ceylon, and 
southern China. The Australian bird has been described as a dis- 
tinct subspecies. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservation : 
In Florida, Tortugas Islands. 

Winter range. — From the Bahama Islands, Cuba, and occasionally 
Louisiana, southward to Brazil; and from southern Mexico (Te- 
huantepec) to Chile. 

Spring migration. — Arrives in Bermuda from April 29 to May 1 ; 
Massachusetts, Muskeget, May 8 to 10; Connecticut, Faulkner's 
Island, May 15. 

Fall migration. — Leaves Bermuda in September and Massachusetts 
about October 1. Other migration data seems to be lacking; prob- 
ably the migration occurs well off the coast. 

Casual records. — Accidental inland as far north as New York 
(Youngstown, May 31, 1886) and as far west as Indiana (Millers, 
August 14, 1916). 

Egg dates. — Massachusetts : Thirty-one records, June 2 to August 
15 ; sixteen records, June 15 to July 6. Bahamas and Florida Keys : 
Eight records, April 30 to June 12; four records, May 16 to 21. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 265 
STERNA ALEUTICA Baird. 
ALEUTIAN TEEN. 

HABITS. 

The type specimen of this unique species was secured by Bischoff, 
on Kodiak Island, on June 12, 1868, together with a single egg. It 
has apparently not been found breeding there since and has not even 
been seen there in recent years. The name Aleutian tern is a mis- 
nomer, based on an erroneous theory that it would be found breeding 
among those islands; but none of the various explorers who have 
visited that region have succeeded in finding it. It was not heard of 
again until Mr. L. M. Turner (1886) found it breeding near St. 
Michael, Alaska, in 1875 and 1876. Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) was 
still more successful in adding to our knowledge of this rare species. 
During his " residence at St. Michael he found these birds to be 
regular and common summer residents in certain restricted localities 
where they nested. They extend their range to the head of Norton 
Bay, and also reach the Siberian coast of Bering Straits, as shown by 
their presence in St. Lawrence Bay, where Mr. R. L. Newcomb, 
naturalist of the Jeannette, found them in 1879." Practically nothing 
has been added since that time to our meager knowledge of the habits 
and distribution of this rare species, which seemed to have such a 
restricted habitat. Col. John E. Thayer has recently shown me 11 
specimens of Aleutian terns collected on Sakhalin Island, on the east 
coast of Siberia, on June 23 and 24, 1914, which were probably breed- 
ing birds. This tends to confirm a theory which I have long held 
that the Aleutian tern is an Asiatic species which has extended its 
breeding range across Bering Straits, as several other species have 
done, and become temporarily or permanently established at a few 
isolated spots on the Alaskan coast. The Kodiak colony was evi- 
dently unsuccessful, but the two colonies near St. Michael have per- 
sisted up to the present day (1915) as permanent outposts, one con- 
taining about 20 pairs and one about 40 pairs of breeding birds. 

Spring.— According to Doctor Nelson (1887), the Aleutian terns 

reach St. Michael from May 20 to 30, rarely earlier than the first date, and are 
found scattered along the coast, in company with the Arctic tern, for a short time, 
but early in June they gather about the islands where they nest. One of these 
islands is about a mile from St. Michael, in the mouth of a tide channel known 
as the " canal." This island is nearly half a mile across, rises about 30 feet 
from the beach in a sharp incline, and has a rather level top, covered with a 
thick mat of grass, moss, and other vegetation. The upland is dry, and here 
the birds breed, laying their eggs directly upon the moss, with no attempt at 
a lining, which would be entirely unnecessary there. Some 18 miles to the 
eastward, along the coast, and less than a mile from the Eskimo village of 
Kegikhtowik, is another island in a bay, presenting almost the same character- 



266 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

istics as the one first described, and upon the higher portions the birds nest 
even more commonly, for, as against the 20 pairs or so nesting on the first is- 
land, some 30 or 40 pairs occupied the latter island both seasons when it was 
visited by the writer. From the proximity of native villages, and owing to the 
persecution received at the hands of Turner and myself, the birds on these is- 
lands were very shy, and it was no easy task to secure specimens. 

Nesting. — While passing through St. Michael on July 8, 1914, 
my assistant, Mr. Hersey, secured two specimens of Aleutian terns, 
and again on July 17, 1915, he succeeded in collecting a small series 
of these interesting birds near the island referred to above. I had 
sent him there again in 1915 to spend the whole summer in the vicin- 
ity of St. Michael. His several visits to the island at the mouth of 
the canal resulted in his securing several sets of eggs, mostly sets of 
two, taken on June 23 and 28 and July 3. His notes state : 

The island where the Aleutian terns breed rises rather abruptly from the 
water to a height of about 25 feet and then spreads out broad and fairly level. 
At one end are several small ponds, and here it is lower than at other places. 
The higher parts are covered with a mat of dry grass of last year's growth, 
through which the new green blades are now appearing. In this matted grass 
the terns are now nesting, not in a compact colony, but scattered about in single 
pairs. Although apparently nesting anywhere over this space, the nests are 
in reality placed rather near the edge of the island, and in most cases the sitting 
bird could look out over the water. I found no nests in the center of the island. 
Among this tangle of dry grass are interspersed patches of a soft gray moss 
which grows close to the ground. These patches vary from 1 or 2 feet in diam- 
eter to several yards in size. In these patches of moss the nests are generally 
made, the small ones being selected as the near-by grass affords some con- 
cealment. None were found among the larger patches. One nest was found 
on a mound of rotten wood, where a log of driftwood had decayed. The nest 
is a depression in the moss 3 or 4 inches across and about \\ inches deep, and 
is unlined. Two eggs appear to complete the set. 

While walking over the island the birds circled high overhead, and nothing 
in their actions disclosed the location of any of their nests. They seldom 
came very near even when a nest was found, but one pair of birds darted down 
close to my head as I neared their nest. When I first landed on the island 
where the terns were nesting the birds began to fly up out of the grass, and by 
marking the spot from which they rose a nest could generally be found. 
Although but slightly concealed I found the nest exceedingly hard to find, and 
it took an average of an hour to locate each one. 

Eggs, — Mr. Hersey's experience would seem to indicate that two 
eggs constitute the normal set; probably three eggs are rarely laid, 
and occasionally only one. Several sets of three eggs each, collected 
on Stuart Island by Capt. H. H. Bodfish, are probably eggs of the 
Arctic tern. Some of these that I have seen do not show any of the 
well-marked characteristics of Aleutian tern's eggs. Moreover, Mr. 
Hersey, who spent considerable time on Stuart Island, says that it is 
not at all suited for the breeding requirements of the Aleutian tern, 
and that none breed there, though the Arctic tern does breed there. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 






BULLETIN 113 PL. 62 






i 







St. Michael, Alaska. 



F. S. Hersey, 




St. Michael, Alaska. 



Aleutian Tern. 

For description see page 335. 



F. S. Hersey 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 267 

I believe that the series of eggs collected by Mr. Hersey are the only 
authentic eggs of the Aleutian tern in existence outside of those col- 
lected for the United States National Museum referred to above. 
These eggs vary in shape from ovate to elongate ovate, with a de- 
cided tendency toward the latter. The shell is thin, with very little 
luster. The ground color varies from, "clay color" or "honey 
yellow " to " olive buff " or " Marguerite yellow." In a general way, 
they are not only more elongated, but darker and more richly colored 
than other tern's eggs. They are usually heavily marked with large 
blotches and smaller spots, scattered irregularly over the egg or 
coalesced into longitudinal splashes or in a wreath near the larger 
end. These markings consist of underlying spots or splashes of 
various shades of drab, from "deep brownish drab" to "pallid 
brownish drab," overlaid with bold and handsome blotches and spots 
of the darker and richer shades of brown, such as "Mars brown," 
"Vandyke brown," and "light seal brown." The measurements of 
44 eggs, in the United States National Museum and the writer's col- 
lections, average 42 by 29 millimeters; the eggs showing the four 
extremes measure 46.7 by 30, 45 by 30.5, and 40 by 27.5 milli- 
meters. 

Young. — Only one brood is raised in a season, and, according to 

Mr. Hersey's experience, no second attempt to raise a brood is made 
if the first eggs are taken. Mr. Turner (1886) gives the period of 
incubation as 17 days, but this is evidently an error, as the common 
and roseate terns are known to have an incubation period of 21 days. 
Doctor Nelson (1887) says: 

The eggs are rarely laid before June 5 or 10, and I found one egg with an 
embryo two-third grown on September 1, but this is very unusual. The young 
of aleutica are hatched from the last of June until September, and the first ones 
are on the wing by the last of July. 

Speaking of the second island, referred to above, near St. Michael, 
he writes: 

On September 1, 1879, I visited the island near Kegikhtowik and found from 
60 to 80 adults of this species haunting the vicinity and circling in graceful 
flight all about the island. When we landed and passed over the island the 
birds showed considerable anxiety and continually uttered a thin, clear, thrilling 
whistle. With the exception of some broken eggshells and the old depressions 
showing the nesting sites, nothing but a single egg was found there ; but as we 
walked out on a low cape, covered with large scattered rocks, we put up, one 
after the other, a considerable number of young birds just able to fly, and a 
goodly number were secured. When they arose they had a queer, erratic, dazed 
kind of flight, reminding me of the flight of an owl suddenly disturbed in the 
daytime. The old birds kept flying in toward the point with small fishes in 
their beaks, but although we concealed ourselves in the rocks others of the 
party evidently warned them, so that only two or three of the adults were 
taken. One young bird was fired at and missed and flew wildly out to sea, 
when it wad joined by an old bird, which kept close to it, and as the young bird 



268 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

became tired and turned toward shore the parent met it and forced it to turn 
back. This maneuver was repeated over a dozen times, until the young bird was 
forced off to sea out of sight. This was one of the most striking instances of 
bird sagacity I met with in the north. 

Plumages. — Doctor Nelson (1887) describes the downy young as 
follows : 

The downy young of this species appear to be distinguishable from the 
young of all other species. The color above is a grayish buff profusely blotched 
with black. The black of the chin and throat extends somewhat to the upper 
portion of the breast. The breast is pure white, shading into a very dark 
gray on the belly and sides. There is considerable difference in individual 
specimens, some being of a light buff above. As compared with the downy 
young of paradisaea from Labrador, these birds are darker above, buff instead 
of a light fulvous, and with more black blotching. The black of the under parts 
in paradisaea is limited to the chin and throat, while the belly is of a much 
lighter color. 

He says further : 

The young in any stage may be readily distinguished from the young of 
paradisaea by the deeply cleft toe-web, whereas the web of the latter is nearly 
full. 

August birds, in fresh juvenal plumage, have the crown " fawn 
color " or " wood brown " mottled with blackish, more thickly pos- 
teriorly ; the sides of the neck and chest are washed with paler shades 
of the same ; the. feathers of the back, scapulars, and lesser wing- 
coverts are dark " sepia," broadly edged with " cinnamon buff," 
which is most conspicuous and brightest on the larger scapulars; 
the secondaries are broadly tipped with white, making a con- 
spicuous wing band; the rump is ashy, not white, as in the Arctic 
tern; the tail feathers are broadly tipped with "cinnamon buff" 
beyond a subterminal dusky area ; the under parts are white. These 
colors become paler with age and probably the buff edgings fade 
out to white or wear away during the fall. 

Unfortunately we have no material for study in our collections 
which illustrates anything but the juvenal and the fully adult breed- 
ing plumages, so we can only guess at the subsequent molts and 
plumages. No birds in immature spring plumage have ever been 
taken on the breeding grounds, which shows that the young birds 
do not breed during the first spring or that the full plumage is 
acquired by that time ; probably the latter is the case. 

Food. — There seems to be no data on the food or feeding habits of 
the Aleutian tern, but probably it does not differ materially in this 
respect from the Arctic tern, with which it seems to be intimately 
associated. 

Behavior. — Regarding the appearance of the Aleutian tern in life, 
Mr. Hersey says that it can be distinguished from the Arctic tern by 
its darker color, the under parts, including the wing linings, appear- 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 269 

ing lead- colored. The white forehead is seldom noticeable in flight, 
except at short range, when the black bill and black feet can be seen. 
The body appears to be heavier, the wing strokes slower, and the 
whole bird larger. It habitually flies at a higher elevation above the 
ground or water, usually above gun range. A wounded bird gives 
the characteristic, harsh tern cries which serves to draw its com- 
panions down nearer the ground. The birds thus attracted seldom 
hover over their fallen comrade, but swoop down near him, then pass 
and mount upward again. 

Mr. Turner (1886) says: 

The note of this bird differs from that of S. paradisaea in that the " squay " 
is weaker and squeaky. The other note is like tive-e-e-e prolonged, and is really 
distinguishable from the harsher " squay " of the 8. paradisaea. 

Mr. Hersey records the ordinary note as a three-syllable whistle, 
suggesting a shore-bird's call rather than the harsh, grating tee-ar-r-r 
so characteristic of other terns. 

After collecting the eggs mentioned above, Mr. Hersey left the 
terns to lay again and hatch out broods of young, but evidently they 
did not do so, or, if they did, their plans for rearing young were 
frustrated by a short-eared owl which he found living on the island ; 
whether the owl had destroyed the young or had so persecuted the 
old birds that they did not lay again is a question. 

Foil. — Not much is known about the fall migration or the winter 
home of the Aleutian tern. Mr. Nelson (1887) says: 

The old birds stray along the coast after the 1st of July and until about the 
middle of September, after which none are seen until the following season. 

Where they go is a mystery, certainly not down the Pacific coast 
of North America; probably they retreat to their Asiatic home, 
whence they extended their range to Alaska and migrate down the 
coast to Japan, and perhaps much farther south or west. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Known to breed only on two small islands in 
Norton Sound, Alaska, near St. Michael and near Kegikhtowik. 
Probably breeds on or near Saghalin Island, in the Sea of Okhotsa. 
Siberia, where birds were taken in June. Once bred on Kodiak 

Winter range. — Unknown. Recorded in northern Japan ( off 
Island, Alaska. 
Yezo). 

Spring migration. — Arrives at St. Michael, May 20 to 30. 

Fall migration.— Leaves St. Michael about the middle of Sep- 
tember. 

Eggs dates.— Alaska (St. Michael) : Five records, June 23 to 28. 



270 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

STEENA ANTILLARUM (Lesson). 
LEAST TERN. 

HABITS. 

Clearly impressed upon my mind is a vivid picture of a peaceful 
summer scene in a remote corner of Cape Cod; a broad, flat sandy 
point stretched for a mile or more out into the sea; the deep blue 
ocean with its cooling breezes made a pleasing contrast to the glaring 
white sands which reflected the heat of the midday sun; scattered 
about on the sandy plain around me were the little hollows contain- 
ing the eggs of the least tern, almost invisible among the pebbles, 
bits of shells, and small stones, which they resembled so closely ; and 
overhead the air was full of the graceful, flitting forms of this 
little " sea swallow," darting down at me, with sharp cries of anxiety, 
or soaring far aloft until they were lost to sight in the ethereal 
blue of a cloudless sky. Such a picture as this was a common sight, 
in those days, anywhere along the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts 
to Florida, where the least tern was widely distributed and very 
abundant in all suitable localities. But its graceful form and deli- 
cate plumage was so much in demand for the millinery trade that it 
was practically extirpated in nearly all places where it was easily 
accessible, leaving only a delightful memory of a joy that had 
passed. It was never particularly shy and was easily killed on its 
breeding grounds, its social and sympathetic habits making it a 
simple matter to practically annihilate a whole colony in a single 
season. 

Numerous colonies formerly existed on the southern coasts of New 
England. Mr. William Brewster (1879) wrote that "formerly a 
small colony of least terns nested annually upon the Ipswich sand 
hills, but they have been entirely driven away by persecution," but 
since that time they have not been found breeding north of Cape 
Cod. Mr. John C. Cahoon (1890) wrote: 

Not a day passes in the summer that the fishermen about this island do not 
patrol the beach in search of the tern's and piping plover's eggs. The birds have 
no chance to breed. When I first visited the island about six years ago there 
were several hundred pairs of least tern breeding, but they have now become 
reduced to less than 25 pair. 

This and other Massachusetts colonies were practically annihilated 
during the next few years, but a few small colonies have always 
survived on the south coast of Martha's Vineyard, though they be- 
came much reduced in numbers. On the much- frequented beaches, 
near the summer resorts, the birds were shot and their eggs were 
picked up by boys ; cats undoubtedly did their part in the extermina- 
tion; and occasionally a whole colony was washed out by an extra I 
high tide. During recent years, since 1905, the least terns have been 
slowly increasing in Massachusetts; they are now breeding again in 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 63 



" A : ". 









9m -^■', 1 




Dartmouth, Massachusetts. 



A. C. Bent. 




.v->V- 
-. < 



Dartmouth, Massachusetts. 



Least Tern. 

For description see page 336 






% -*••• 







A. C. Bent. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 271 

several places where they had been entirely extirpated, on the main- 
land as well as on the islands. 

In Wilson's time the least terns bred abundantly on the New Jersey 
coast. During his whole stay on the Cape May beaches they flew in 
clouds around him. Mr. Gr. S. Morris says, writing of the same spot 
in 1881, in some notes sent to Dr. Witmer Stone (1909) : 

The least terns bred in considerable numbers, and were equally vociferous 
in their protests against intruders. It is difficult, at this late date (1909), to 
give an estimate of numbers, but I can remember standing in one spot and 
seeing five or six nests within a radius of 15 or 20 feet ; but my recollections are 
that these conditions only pertained to an acre or so of the beach. In the 
summer of 1884, in July, I could find no least tern's eggs, and natives told me 
they no longer found eggs on the beach. During the period 1881-1886 I saw a 
good deal of the slaughter of the birds in this region. I remember coming upon 
two professional millinery gunners, I think in the summer of 1885, who had 
two piles about knee-high of least and common terns, which they said they 
were sending to New York, my recollection being that they got 12 cents apiece 
for the birds. 

Dr. Witmer Stone (1909), writing of the conditions in 1908, says: 

Mr. H. G. Parker in 1888 estimated that there were only 30 pairs left on 
Seven Mile Beach, and Mr. Philip Laurent (1892) says that some still breed 
there. Since then we have no definite breeding record, but Mr. W. L. Baily 
saw two birds together at Stone Harbor, July 15, 1899, which he felt sure 
were nesting. 

Since that time least terns have increased in numbers all along the 
coast where protected. 

The most pitiful tale of destruction is the story of the Cobb's 
Island and other colonies on the coast of Virginia. Mr. H. B. Bailey 
(1876), in writing of the nesting habits of the least tern, or "little 
striker," on Cobb's Island in 1875, says : 

Colonies of about 50 pairs each of this species extend the whole length of the 
island at about a distance of 1 mile apart. 

Least terns were astonishingly abundant all along the Virginia 
coast at that time, but during the next decade their destruction was 
appalling. Professional collectors for the millinery trade spent the 
greater part of the breeding season on the islands and killed the inno- 
cent birds in almost incredible numbers. The resident fishermen and 
oystermen also found it a lucrative occupation. As many as 1,200 
birds were often killed in a day, and one of the residents, who had 
taken part in the slaughter himself, told me that as many as 100,000 
terns were sometimes killed in a season. Mr. William H. Fisher 
(1897), writing of conditions in 1891, says: 

When I first went to the island about 28 years ago the least, common, and 
Forster's terns nested there in colonies of thousands, but now few of them 
breed and the least is seldom seen. During four days on the island in May, 
1891, I only saw one of the latter, and it was as wild as an oystercatcher, which 
is a very wild bird. The royal tern also nested on the island at one time. 



272 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

The least terns disappeared entirely during the next 10 years. Dr. 
Frank M. Chapman (1903) visited Cobb's Island in 1902 to gather 
material for his habitat group, and found them entirely gone. He 
says of their destruction : 

The former captain of the life-saving station told me of 1,400 least terns being 
killed in one day; while the present captain of the station and Mr. E. B. Cobb, 
owner of the island, informed me that when terns were first killed for millinery 
purposes they, with another man, killed 2,800 birds in three days on and near 
Cobb's Island. The birds were packed in cracked ice and shipped to New York 
for skinning, 10 cents being paid for each one. 

The least terns were reported as increasing again in 1905, but when 
I visited the island during the height of the breeding season in 1907 
I failed to see a single bird of this species. 

The colonies on the coasts of North and South Carolina were not 
completely annihilated, but they were greatly reduced in numbers. 
Mr. Arthur T. Wayne (1910) says: 

Hunters came from the north with regular outfits to wage war against these 
poor, defenceless creatures, and in one season alone all of these terns breeding 
on Bull's Island were killed. 

In Florida the same cruel work of destruction was systematically 
conducted. Mr. W. E. D. Scott (1887) thus describes the methods 
employed : 

About 4 o'clock this afternoon a " sharpie " schooner, some 45 feet in length, 
came from the direction of Big Gasparilla Pass and anchored within 200 feet 
of us. The crew to the number of four at once went on the beach, and from 
the time they landed until dark there was a perfect fusilade. Going over to see 
what they were doing I found that they were killing all kinds of shore birds 
and least terns. One of the men told me that this was Mr. Batty's boat, and 
that they were collecting birds for the " plume market" ; that Mr. Batty was 
down the beach shooting an*l would be back for supper. They had bunches of 
Wilson's plover (breeding), least terns, and various kinds of sandpipers. These 
birds are skinned, partly filled out with cotton, and at once wrapped up in 
paper and packed away to be finished after reaching the north. They were 
killing and preparing by these methods, during the time I was near Mr. Batty's 
party, from 100 to 150 birds a day. I called on Mr. Batty later in the evening 
and learned something of his work. 

Spring. — Mr. William Brewster (1879) has written the follow- 
ing attractive account of the arrival of the terns on their breeding 
grounds : 

Spring comes over the sea later than upon the land, and fewer tokens are 
given of its presence. There is no freshening grass; no budding foliage, nor 
springing up of green things in sheltered places. Summer may be close at 
hand, but as yet the sea gives no sign. When the wind is from the north the 
waves in the bay have that steely glint that they have borne all winter. The 
sand drifts drearily over the wind-swept beach ridges, and the marshes are 
black and brown, while in the interior robins may be hopping about upon 
green lawns and violets blooming in every woodland nook. The ducks and 
geese, it is true, are marshaling their cohorts and stretching out in long lines 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 




Orange County, California. 



W. M. Pierce. 




Louisiana. 



Least Tern. 

For description see page 336 



A. M. Bailey. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 273 

northward, but the breath of ocean is still chill and cold. Indeed, the season 
is commonly far advanced and the apple orchards in bloom inland ere the 
winter gulls are gone to their distant breeding grounds. Scarcely has the 
rear-guard of their legions departed, when the terns begin to appear. 

The least terns, although the smallest and seemingly the most 
delicate of their tribe, arrive first. By the middle of May they ap- 
pear in certain favored spots — for they are not anywhere very 
numerous — and small colonies of from 10 to 50 pairs are soon formed 
at various points along the shores of Cape Cod and upon some of 
the more sandy islands in the Vineyard Sound. 

Nesting. — The localities usually selected by the least tern for 
nesting are broad, flat, open sand beaches, entirely devoid of vegeta- 
tion, where there are more or less small stones and bits of shells 
scattered about, among which the eggs are quite difficult to detect. 
The eggs are usually laid well above the reach of the ordinary high 
tides, but occasionally the combination of a heavy gale with the 
spring tides will result in the washing out of a whole colony. This 
has occurred several times on the south shore of Marthas Vineyard, 
where the beaches are low and much exposed. "Whereas other terns 
almost always nest on islands, the least tern frequently breeds on 
suitable beaches on the mainland if they are not too near human 
habitations. The depredations of cats, rats, or small boys will 
drive them away from much frequented beaches. 

In the northern portion of its range, at least, these terns usually 
select a section of beach somewhat apart from other species, though 
they often associate to some extent with piping plovers. In the 
Carolinas they are found breeding among or near the common terns 
and black skimmers. The nest is merely a small hollow scooped in 
the sand, in which usually two eggs are laid, occasionally three, and 
very rarely four; the larger numbers are more frequent northward 
and less so southward. 

On May 8, 1903, I found a small breeding colony of least terns 
on Lake Key, one of the Florida Keys, a low, flat island, with sandy 
or shelly beaches, frequented by migrating shore birds. Beyond a 
narrow strip of low mangroves, just above the beach, we came upon 
a small, shallow, muddy pond, where a small but very noisy colony 
of black-necked stilts were breeding. The least terns' nests, about 
40 of them, were on a narrow strip of beach on the shcre of this pond, 
and consisted of little hollows in the sand, or finely broken shells, 
of which the beach was composed. Most of the nests contained two 
eggs, some only one, and those that we collected were all fresh. The 
nests were strung along in a row a few feet apart. A few pairs of 
Wilson's plover were breeding on the beaches and among the small 
mangrove bushes. In the Florida Keys and West Indies the eggs 
of the least tern are gathered for food. The bird is locally known 



274 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

there by a variety of names, such as "killing peter," "kill-em 
polly," and " sand peter." 

There are a few small breeding colonies of least terns in the reser- 
vations on the coast of Louisiana. In the lower Mississippi Valley 
there are a few colonies breeding on low, sandy islands in the Missis- 
sippi and Missouri Kivers, where their nesting is much delayed by 
high water in the spring. Mr. Gideon Mabbett, who has studied 
the breeding habits of this species on the sand bars of the Mississippi 
Eiver, near Rodney, Mississippi, sent to Major Bendire the follow- 
ing notes : 

On their first appearance they are generally resting on an old log or piece 
of drift-wood floating in the back water of the Mississippi River, and remain 
very quiet for sometimes for a day or two, as though they were tired from a 
long flight. In a few days they are here in great numbers, flying around and 
chasing each other as though making love to each other. As the waters recede 
they take themselves more to the river proper; when the high places are out 
of water they then prepare the nest, which is nothing more than a small de- 
pression scooped in the sand about the size of a half-closed hand. 

Mr. F. W. Kelsey (1902) says of their nesting habits near San 
Diego, California : 

In this section we seldom find a set of this species containing more than 
two eggs. The nesting places vary considerably, sometimes being merely a 
little wallow, 3 or 4 inches across, in the fine gray or black sand; at other 
times the eggs are deposited among coarse gravel and broken shells, while at 
others the nest is in the plain sand, but is more or less elaborately decorated 
with bits of rock, shell, or wood. In all cases, however, that have come to 
my notice, the nests have been on almost level ground, and entirely devoid of 
shelter. 

Mr. A. I. McCormick (1899) describes their breeding grounds in 
Los Angeles County as follows : 

The beaches of this county, from Santa Monica southward, afford excellent 
breeding grounds for numberless birds of this species. The coast consists 
mainly of low sandy beaches, extending back 100 to 200 feet from the water's 
edge. Back of the beach proper come low sand hills, interspersed with small 
valleys, and farthest from the ocean are the higher lands, covered with a thick 
growth of low sage and other shrubs, about 200 feet from the water's edge. 
Water on the one side and sage brush on the other mark the boundaries of the 
nesting grounds of least terns, most of which last year (1897) arrived from the 
south about May 10. For 10 days they remained, flying high over the sea, 
seldom if ever coming within gunshot range. 

My second and last trip to the beach was made on June 5, when I was fortu- 
nate enough to take 15 sets of least tern's eggs. Six of them consisted ol 
three eggs each. This is exceptional in the county. I have consulted several 
collectors who have had considerable experience with least terns in this locality, 
and with one or two exceptions two eggs has been the invariable complemenl 
found. 

Judging from my own experience I should say that the least tern 
normally raises only one brood in a season, at least in the northern 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 65 




Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts. 



E. H. Forbush. 



■ 










3r 






Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts. 

Least Tern. 

For description see page 336. 



E. H. Forbush. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 275 

portions of its range. But Mr. W. Lee Chambers (1908) , in speaking 
of a protected colony in southern California, says : 

I should say that fully 75 per cent of the birds in this colony raised two or 
three broods. 

Probably in warm climates, where the breeding season is more 
prolonged, second broods are more often raised. 

Eggs. — The eggs of the least tern are good examples of protective 
coloration, for they match their surroundings remarkably well and 
can hardly be distinguished from mottled pebbles. The usual 
ground color varies from deep rich " cartridge buff " to very " pale 
olive buff," or to a color between " pale olive buff " and white. This 
is more or less unevenly sprinkled with small spots, and sometimes 
with a few large spots or blotches of dark shades of brown, such as 
"Mars brown," "sepia," or "mummy brown." Most eggs show 
some spots and many, particularly of the lighter types, show large 
underlying blotches of " Rood's lavender " or other shades of " laven- 
der gray." Some eggs show very handsome patterns of bold dark 
markings over lighter shades. The shape varies from ovate to short 
ovate and the shell is thin and luster less. The measurements of 63 
eggs, in the United States National Museum, average 31 by 23.5 
millimeters ; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 37 by 24, 
28.5 by 23 and 29.5 by 22 millimeters. 

Young. — The period of incubation is said to be from 14 to 16 days. 
The young remain in the nest for a few days, but soon begin to 
develop powers of locomotion. They realize the value of the hiding 
pose and are well aware of their protective coloration ; they lie pros- 
trate on the sand, where they are nearly invisible, until almost 
touched, when they start up and run away with astonishing rapidity. 
When once started they seldom attempt to hide again and are very 
difficult to catch. 

Mr. Edward H. Forbush has sent me the following interesting ob- 
servations on the behavior of the young : 

Near me were two little young, just hatched and their down hardly dry, ye£ 
they were able to run about a little. Near by were several other youngsters. 
As I lay there propped up on my elbows, awaiting the return of the mother 
birds, several of them flitted back and forth, and soon their cheeping cries 
changed to a musical metallic " pidink," which has something of the tinkling 
quality of the bobolink's note. Soon the mother of the two nearest little ones 
alighted, and, running to her charges, settled easily upon them, shading them 
from the hot sun's rays. Then she turned her gaze upward and called softly 
in reply to the tender notes of the male, which circled overhead. Soon he 
alighted and took the mother's place in shading the young, while she flew away, 
perhaps to fish and bathe. Soon she returned with a little sand eel, which 
she gave to one of the tiny ones, who ran to her for it. Then she flew again, 
descended into the sea and returned to her charges which the male relinquished 



276 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

to her care. She stood over them with ruffled feathers, and seemed to shake off 
some drops of water on their little panting forms, and then raised her wings 
a trifle to shade them from the hot sun. All this I saw at a distance of about 
7 or 8 feet, and photographed some of it, the male meantime standing near by. 
He then took flight, and she nestled over the chick nearest me, coaxing him 
gently farther away by using her bill and calling the other, which finally 
followed to her new position and settled by her side. 

Again the gentle twittering, and the father came down on the sand with a 
tiny, bright, silvery fish. A little one stuck its head out between the mother's 
wing and her body, the father courteously passed the fish to the mother, and 
she fed the chick, which begged for it with open mouth. Again the bread- 
winner winged his way over the sunny sea and returned with another fish. 
Now the little ones were asleep under the mother's breast. He offered her the 
fish. She refused it. He flew away, but soon alighted and proffered it again, 
only to be refused again. At last, having full assurance that his family did 
not need food, he swallowed it himself. Where shall we look to find a lovelier 
picture of happy, harmonious family relations than that shown here on this 
desolate beach, beside the roaring surf? 

Plumages. — The colors of the downy young are very pale, to match 
their sandy surroundings. They are practically white, tinged locally 
above with "ivory yellow" or "pale olive buff," mainly on the 
crown and wings ; they are spotted or mottled on the head and back 
with various shades of " mouse gray " ; the under parts are pure white. 
When about half grown the ju venal plumage appears on the back 
and then on the head, " pinkish buff " on the back with U -shaped 
markings of " sepia " or " brownish olive," one on each feather. 
The pure white breast feathers appear at about this time, and the 
dusky wing quills are growing rapidly. 

As the young bird attains its growth, in August, the colors be- 
come grayer, " pallid mouse gray," or " pallid neutral gray " on the 
back and wing-coverts ; the forehead and crown " pale olive buff," 
with a dusky orbital and cervical crescent, and with numerous 
subapical, U-shaped spots of "brownish olive." The wing quills 
are gray, darker externally, and margined inwardly with white. The 
lesser wing-coverts, particularly on the bend of the wing, are mottled 
with dusky and the greater wing-coverts are white clouded with 
" pearl gray." 

In the first winter plumage according to Coues (1877) the young 
bird begins to resemble the adult, but differs from it as follows: 

It is somewhat smaller, with considerably weaker bill, the basal portions of 
which are still more or less dirty flesh color. The forehead and vertex are 
rather grayish-white than pure white, and the brownish-black of the nape is 
interrupted with light grayish. The uniformity of the colors of the upper 
parts is interfered with by the still remaining lighter tips of most of the 
feathers, while some may yet retain the brownish subapical spots of the 
avis hornotina. The tail has still some traces of dark subapical spots. It is 
only in early winter that this particular plumage can be seen, for toward 
spring the birds are hardly to be distinguished from the adults. 



LJJ-E HJH'JOkJKS OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 277 

The distinguishing features of this plumage usually disappear 
at a complete prenuptial molt in the spring. At the first postnuptial 
molt, which occur* in July and August, the young birds become 
wholly indistinguishable from adults. The winter plumage of the 
adult is mainly characterized by the brownish black occiput and 
nape, by the grayish black on the bend of the wing, and by the black 
bill. The adult nuptial plumage is produced by a complete pre- 
nuptial rnoJt in the spring. It is characterized by the glossy black 
pileum, the pure white forehead, the yellow, black-tipped bill, and 
other minor points in which its differs from the winter plumage. 

Food. — The least tern does not differ materially in its feeding 
habits from other species of the genus. It obtains its food, which 
is mainly small fish, by skimming over the surface or by hovering 
in the air and plunging down into the water after its prey. This 
plunging habit has given it the name of " little striker." It is very 
active while feeding and light and graceful in its movements, dart- 
ing down upon its quarry with speed and accuracy. Its food is 
generally swallowed on the wing, but if not properly adjusted in 
the bill it is sometimes dropped and caught again before it reaches 
the water. Occasionally a bird will alight on the ground to devour 
its food, and often it flies away with it to feed its mate or its young. 
Mr. Ora W. Knight (1908) saw them in southern California "lightly 
skimming over the surface of the water and feeding on the various 
small surface-swimming crustaceans and small fish or engaged in 
feeding on various species of beach insects." The examination of 
75 stomachs of birds by Warren (1890) killed on the New Jersey 
'•oast in summer "showed that they had fed almost exclusively on 
little fish : not more than four or five had any traces of insects in their 
stomachs." Audubon (1840) refers to their feeding on "shrimps 
and prawns." Sand eels are also eaten. 

Behavior. — The flight of this delicate little "sea swallow" is 
exceedingly light, graceful, and buoyant; it is at times swift and 
well sustained. Audubon (1840) has well described its movements 
as follows : 

When you invade their breeding place they will sometimes sweep far away 
and suddenly return, coming so near as almost to strike you. While traveling 
their tight but firm flight is wonderfully sustained, and on hearing and seeing 
them on such occasions one is tempted to believe them to be the happiest of 
the happy. They seem as if marshalled and proceeding to a merrymaking, 
bo gaily do they dance along, as if to the music of their own lively cries. Now 
you see the whole group suddenly check their onward speed, hover over a 
deep eddy supplied with numberless shrimps, and dash headlong on their 
prey. Up rises the little thing with the shrimp in its bill, and again down 
it plunges, and its movements are so light and graceful that you look on with 
pleasure and are in no haste to depart. Should this scene be enacted while 



278 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

they have young in their company the latter await in the air the rise of their 
parents, meet them-, and receive the food from them. When all are satiated 
they proceed on their journey, stopping at another similar but distant place. 

When their breeding grounds are invaded these terns show their 
anxiety by hovering over the intruder or darting down at him with 
shrill, strident cries of protest. Wilson (1832) described their cries 
as sounding like the " squealing of young pigs." Their ordinary call 
note, the one most often heard on their breeding grounds, is a shrill, 
rasping cry, sounding like the syllables "zree ee eep." They also 
have a variety of cackling and whistling notes. When attacking an 
intruder, at which they are very bold, they utter a sharp " yip " or a 
series of vehement notes like "keck, keck, keck," rapidly repeated. 
While hovering over a school of small fish they become very much 
excited and noisy, indulging in a constant chorus of shrill cries. 

Least terns are particularly gentle and harmless birds. They are 
not as sociable as some other species, but they live in perfect harmony 
with their neighbors on their breeding grounds. They seem to prefer 
the same localities, and become intimately associated with piping 
plovers, Wilson's plovers, and snowy plovers in their respective 
breeding ranges. Their chief enemies are human beings, who shoot 
them and destroy their eggs, and dogs, cats, and rats, which eat 
their eggs and young. Fortunately protection has come in time to 
save this beautiful species from complete extermination, with which 
it certainly was threatened. 

Winter. — There is not much to be said about their winter habits, 
for most of them spend the winter south of our borders in warmer 
climes, though a few winter on our southern coasts. They are more 
given to wandering during the fall and winter, and are more often 
seen inland then than at other seasons. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — All along the Atlantic coast, from Massachusetts 
(Chatham) to the Florida Keys, and along the Gulf coast to south- 
ern Texas (Cameron County). Islands in the Mississippi and 
Missouri Eivers ; north, formerly at least, to southern South Dakota 
(Vermillion) and central northern Iowa (Clear Lake) ; and west to 
northern Nebraska (Niobrara River) and southwestern Kansas 
(Cimarron River). From the Bahamas (Andros, Abaco, Eleuthera, 
Watlings Island, etc.) and the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Porto Rico, 
Cayman Islands, etc.), southward throughout the Lesser Antilles to 
Venezuela (Aruba and Bonaire Islands), and westward to British 
Honduras. On the Pacific coast, from central California (Monterey 
Bay) southward to southern Mexico (Tehuantepec). Pacific coast 
birds are now considered subspecifically distinct. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 279 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservations : 
In Florida, Mosquito Inlet, Tortugas Islands. 

Winter range. — From the Gulf of Mexico (Louisiana coast) south, 
along the east coasts of Central and South America, to Argentina 
(Corrientes) ; and from the Gulf of California, south, along the 
west coast to Peru (Sarayacu). 

Spring migration. — Early dates of arrival : New Jersey, Long 
Beach, May 12; Rhode Island, Newport, May 15; Massachusetts, 
Chatham, May 2 ; Nebraska, April 2. 

Fall migration. — Late dates of departure: New York, September 
11 ; New Jersey, Long Beach, August 25 ; Maryland, Baltimore, Sep- 
tember 4 ; Kansas, Emporia, August 12 ; Missouri, St. Louis, August 
31; Texas, Bonham, August 20; Lower California, San Jose del 
Cabo, September 6. 

Casual records. — Said to wander in summer north to Minnesota, 
Ontario, and Nova Scotia, but many of the records are doubtful. 
Labrador and Newfoundland records are very doubtful. Occurs 
occasionally in winter on Atlantic coasts of Africa. 

Egg dates. — California: Eighty-nine records, May 20 to August 
12; forty-five records, June 5 to 25. South Carolina and Georgia: 
Thirty-seven records, May 8 to July 20 ; nineteen records, May 21 to 
June 21. Florida: Fourteen records, May 3 to June 29; seven 
records, May 8 to 21. Massachusetts: Eleven records, May 29 to 
July 4 ; six records, June 2 to 29. 

STERNA FUSCATA Linnaeus. 
SOOTY TEBN. 

HABITS. 

This wide ranging species, represented by different races in the 
two hemispheres, gathers for the purpose of breeding into numerous 
vast colonies on remote islands in the tropical waters of both oceans, 
where it is one of the best known sea birds and one of the most popu- 
lar as a producer of eggs for food. Its most famous resort is prob- 
ably Bird Key in the Dry Tortugas, near the Florida Keys, about 
which much has been written, beginning with Audubon's (1840) 
graphic account, from which I quote, as follows: 

On landing I felt for a moment as if the birds would raise me from the 
ground, so thick were they all around and so quick the motion of their wings. 
Their cries were indeed deafening, yet not more than half of them took to wing 
on our arrival, those which rose being chiefly male birds, as we afterwards 
ascertained. We ran across the naked beach, and as we entered the thick cover 
before us, and spread in different directions, we might at every step have caught 
a sitting bird, or one scrambling through the bushes to escape from us. Some 
of the sailors, who had more than once been there before, had provided them- 
selves with sticks, with which they knocked down the birds as they flew thick 
around and over them. In less than half an hour more than a hundred terns 
lay dead in a heap, and a number of baskets were filled to the brim with eggs. 
174785—21 19 



280 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

It was curious to observe their actions whenever a large party landed on the 
island. All those not engaged in incubation would immediately rise in the air 
and scream aloud; those on the ground would then join them as quickly as 
they could, and the whole forming a vast mass, with a broad extended front, 
would as it were charge us, pass over for 50 yards or so, then suddenly wheel 
round and again renew their attack. This they would repeat six or eight times 
in succession. When the sailors, at our desire, all shouted as loud as they 
could, the phalanx would for an instant become perfectly silent, as if to gather 
our meaning ; but the next moment, like a huge wave breaking on the beach, it 
would rush forward with deafening noise. 

Spring. — A description of this island is given in the life history of 
the noddy. Dr. Joseph Thompson (1903) says that sooty terns ar- 
rive about a week after the coming of the noddies ; they " arrive in 
larger flocks and they all seem to reach the breeding place within 
about four days. Within a week of the arrival of the first one their 
eggs are to be found." 

Courtship. — Audubon (1840) witnessed the courtship of this spe- 
cies, of which he writes : 

The male birds frequently threw their heads over their backs as it were, in 
the maimer of several species of gulls; they also swelled out their throats, 
walked round the females, and ended by uttering a soft puffing sound as they 
caressed them. Then the pair for a moment or two walked round each other, 
and at length rose on wing and soon disappeared. 

Nesting. — From Prof. John B. Watson's (1908) careful observa- 
tions of this species and the noddy, made in this colony, we have 
learned much regarding their habits and characteristics. Some of 
this information I shall attempt to give in concise form or in exact 
quotations from his excellent paper, to which I would refer the reader 
for details. Kegarding the nest-building activities he says : 

The building of the sooty nest is quickly accomplished. The obtaining of a 
nest site is the difficult part of the reaction. As has been said, the sooties 
build their nests very near one another. For this reason it is extremely difficult 
to make complete observations. My observations began late one afternoon, 
before any eggs had been laid. Hundreds of the birds were grouped together, 
incessantly fighting and screaming. It quickly became apparent that most of 
them had chosen a nest site and were defending it against all late comers. 
Both male and female were present. Each pair in this particular locality de- 
fended a circular territory, roughly 14 inches to 2 feet in diameter. Other 
birds in wandering around would stumble into this sacred territory and a fight 
would ensue. The fights would often lead to encroachments upon the territory 
of still other birds. The number of those fighting would thus be constantly 
increased. I have seen as many as 14 sooties thus engaging in a fight. Birds 
10 to 15 feet away would rush into the fight and the noise and confusion beg- 
gared description. Sometimes as many as 10 or 15 such fighting groups could 
be observed in the area of 1,000 square feet. Quiet would momentarily ensue 
and then be broken by another series of fights. During the choice of the nest- 
ing site the fights continue day and night, with only intermittent periods of 
quiet. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 




Dry Tortugas, Florida. 



H. K. Job 




Dry Tortugas, Florida. 



H. K. Job. 



Sooty Tern. 

For description see page 336. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 281 

Within this charmed circle the two mated birds remain relatively quiet. 
At this time sexual activity is at its height It frequently happened in the sex- 
ual process that the two hirds would step ouside of their own territory and a 
general light would ensue. When the sexual reaction is in progress it is a sig- 
nal for the surrounding males to encroach. Coition is thus completed only 
.liter much lighting. I have seen the male attempt to mount the female 12 to 
t5 times, and at each attempt be interfered with by neighboring males. 

The actual construction of the nest, when a nest structure is formed, begins 
after an undefended area has been found. The process of nest building is some- 
what as follows: The bird puts the breast to the ground, thereby supporting the 
body and leaving the legs comparatively free. The feet are used as a combined 
scraper nnd shovel. A few backward strokes of the feet are made, which serve both 
to loosen the sand and to remove it. from beneath the body. The bird then turns 
slightly and repeats the process. When it lias turned 360°, or less, it begins to 
use the breast as a shaper. By continuing this process the depression is soon 
made to assume the required diameter and depth. My notes show that the 
bay-cedar leaves are often gathered up and placed around the rim of the nest 
as the hole is being dug. I can not say which sex does the work, but I believe 
that both mule and female engage in it. As soon as the depression is made both 
birds begin to defend it. Naturally, where no nest is made, the nest site alone 
is chosen and defended as described above. 

The nest of a sooty, when a nest is made, consists of a shallow oval depression 
in the sand. This depression varies greatly in depth, depending upon the nature 
of the surface. It is rarely over 5 centimeters in depth, even in loose sand. 

The northern and northeastern sections of the island are free from bushes, 
but are covered by a shallow growth of Bermuda grass. These areas contain 
by tar the largest number of nests. The eggs in these areas are laid literally 
on the grass and bare earth in no kind of nest structure. The eggs are often 
deposited in open sandy places, but nest depressions are not always made, even 
where the nature of the surface easily permits it. 

A rather interesting variation in nest structure appears among certain nests 
which are built under the bay-cedar bushes. The leaves from the bushes some- 
times form a carpet over the sand. The nesting sooties often gather up these 
leaves and place them around the rim of the depression. Under no circum- 
stances are the leaves collected from a distance farther than the birds can 
reach with their beaks while remaining in a sitting posture in the nest. 

Mr. B. S. Bowdish (1900) found a large colony of these terns 
breeding on Desecheo Island, near Porto Rico, under quite different 
conditions, which he describes as follows : 

The nesting sites were ledges or shelves in the face of the rocky walls, rang- 
ing between 1() and 40 feet above the beach. Some were narrow and others 
wide. In one case the egg was laid underneath a cactus plant on top of the 
rocks. In some instances there seemed to be a slight gathering of rock chips 
and small pebbles about the eggs in the form of a ring, and in a very few 
one or two hits of twigs were added, but otherwise there was no nesting ma- 
terial, and often the; egg laid on the bare rock. 

The Pacific form of the sooty tern {Sterna fuscata crissalis) breeds 
on several islands on the west coast of Mexico and in the Hawaiian 
group, congregating in vast colonies, surpassing in extent and density 



282 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

any tern colonies that I have ever heard of elsewhere. Mr. E. W. 
Gifford (1913) says: 

Messrs. Beck and Hunter reported sooty terns nesting by thousands on 
several low, flat islets in the brackish lagoon at Clipperton Island. On one 
islet, about 800 square feet in area and 10 inches in elevation above the water 
of the lagoon, there were over a thousand eggs. They were laid on the bare 
coral, with no semblance of a nest, and were so closely placed that it was 
necessary to step with extreme care to avoid crushing them. The owners were 
very fearless and allowed themselves to be handled freely. They were also 
very noisy and kept up a great din. On the 9th 400 eggs were collected by 
the two residents of the island from a space 20 by 20 feet, and by 11 a. m. on the 
10th over 100 fresh ones had been laid in the same area. 

The colony on Laysan Island is probably the largest, and it cer- 
tainly is a wonder among wonders. Prof. Homer R. Dill (1912), re- 
porting on the condition of this colony, states : 

The first day of June we measured the rookeries of these birds and two 
days later we went over the same ground again. We found that in two days 
the rookeries on the west side had increased in area 3,600 square yards. The 
final estimate of the number of sooty terns was made June 4 — 833,900 for both 
rookeries. This species outnumbers any other on the island. 

Dr. Walter K. Fisher (1906), writing of the same colony, says: 

The sooty terns nest in among the tall grass, and the single egg is laid directly 
on the sand, with sometimes scarcely a hollow to suggest a nest. The eggs 
are placed very close together in many localities — so close that it is sometimes 
difficult to progress and not walk on them. The birds are very loath at times 
to leave their nest, and scold soundly before finally slipping off. When at last 
driven, they limp away, dragging their wings in a painful manner, just as our 
own birds do. Thus, here, on a little island, is this firmly implanted instinct 
strongly in evidence, and practiced where it can be of no possible advantage to 
the bird. Sometimes a dozen or more will struggle on ahead of the pedestrian, 
trampling over each other and crying incessantly, kicking eggs to the right 
and left in a mad endeavor to escape, while overhead their fellows keep up an 
incessant screaming. There is always a great cloud of these birds flying back 
and forth over the colony, even when no disturbing element is present. 
They seem to need the nervous excitement. Just at sunrise they are spon- 
taneously most noisy, for they apparently are returning from the sea, where 
I have heard them at various times during the night. 

Eggs. — The same writer gives a very good description of the eggs 
of the sooty tern, and I can not do better than quote his words, as 
follows : 

The eggs of the sooty tern vary much in markings, but can usually be told 
from those of Sterna lunata by greater size and usually coarser spotting. The 
ground color is white or occasionally a cream buff. One type of marking con- 
sists of deep burnt sienna and grayish vinaceous spots, with occasional nearly 
black scrawls scattered rather evenly over the whole surface. The spots are 
1, 2, and 3, mm. in diameter, with occasional larger and smaller ones. An- 
other less prevalent variation consists of heavy, very deep burnt sienna blotches 
(5 mm. to 15 mm. in extent), congregated in a zone near the blunt end, and 
lesser pale grayish vinaceous and deep burnt sienna spots sparsely scattered 






U, S NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 67 




Dry Tortugas, Florida. 



H. K. Job. 




Dry Tortugas, Florida. 



Sooty Tern. 

For description see page 



H. K. Job. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 283 

over the rest of the egg. A very handsome type has the brown laid over the 
vinaceous, and occasionally the deep bnrnt sienna or chestnut shading off to 
one side into light, caused by the spiral twisting of the egg in the oviduct. 
One specimen shows this to a marked degree, having long chestnut daubs 
extending spirally from the big end. Still another type has fine brown and 
grayish vinaceous maculations scattered all over the egg, but more numerous 
at the blunt end. An abnormal specimen is entirely without markings, being 
pure white. The shape is ovate, either elongate or thick. An average specimen 
measures 53 mm. -by 35 mm. 

The measurements of 76 eggs, in the United States National 
Museum collection, average 50 by 35 millimeters; the eggs showing 
the four extremes measure 56 by 36, 54.5 by 37.5, 44.5 by 35 and 48.5 
by 33 millimeters. 

Young. — Both sexes incubate, and, according to Prof. Watson's 
observations, the shift is made during the night, each bird remaining 
on the nest 24 hours except for occasional short excursions for water. 
The incubating bird is evidently fed by its mate. Based on the 
study of 16 nests he determined that the period of incubation is 26 
days. During the first three days after the young are hatched they 
are closely guarded by their parents, after which they learn to " run 
to the bushes, where they remain motionless after sticking their heads 
into the crotch of some bush or depressing the body against any 
convenient solid object." The parents soon learn to recognize their 
own young, and the young learn to respond to the calls of the parents. 
Each bird feeds it own young and attacks the young of any other 
bird which invades its territory. This leads to many fights among 
the adults and much mortality among the young. Professor Watson 
(1908) says: 

The parents alternately feed the young, but instead of a diurnal period of 
feeding, such as the parents have before the appearance of the young, the inter- 
vals vary anywhere from four to seven hours. My observations are few on 
this point. Though the parents feed the young at any hour of the day, feeding 
can be most easily observed at dusk. It has already been mentioned that the 
sooties hurry home at nightfall in great numbers. From 4 until 8 p. m. this 
feeding process keeps the island in commotion. The feeding of the young birds 
has many interested spectators. While I have never seen the terns from the 
neighboring nests, which may be observing the process, attempt to rob the 
young bird, I judge from the actions of the feeding parent that such is occa- 
sionally the case. If the parent happens to disgorge more than the young tern 
can take into its beak, and the food is allowed to fall to the ground, it is 
ludicrous to watch the rapidity with which the parent picks up the food and 
reswallows it. Often times the mate of the feeding parent is near; its r61e 
is a purely passive one, except when the " spectators " attempt to approach 
too near. Its part is-then to assist in warding them off. 

The care of the young, especially from 20 days on, must be an exhausting 
process for the parents. They become emaciated and somewhat bedraggled in 
appearance. This is not to be wondered at when we consider that a healthy 
young sooty can eat anywhere from 20 to 40 minnows of no insignificant size 



284 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

in a day. It may be of general interest to note that after the first few days 
the parent always recognizes and feeds its own young and no other, and, fur- 
thermore, the young tern recognizes its own parents and attempts to feed only 
from them. Never but once out of many thousands of observations did I see a 
young tern begging food from a stranger. 

Plumages. — I have seen two quite distinct types of downy young. 
In one the upper parts are variegated with "chamois buff" and 
black ; in the other the upper parts are deep sooty or brownish black, 
the down on the head and neck being tipped with "ochraceous 
buff." These colors include the sides of the head, neck, and body, 
in each case, and the under parts are pure white. Mr. Gifford (1913) 
describes some downy young, collected on Clipperton Island, as 
" streaked with grayish brown and dull white on the upper surface, 
but the white down is tipped with rufous." 

When about 30 days old the young bird is fairly well clothed in 
its juvenal plumage. In this plumage the upper parts are "clove 
brown " ; the back, upper tail-coverts, and wing-coverts are narrowly 
edged with buff ; the scapulars are broadly tipped with buffy white ; 
and the under parts are uniform " olive brown," shading off to gray- 
ish white on the belly and crissum. The bill is small and the tail is 
square, or nearly so. Probably the light edgings wear away during 
the winter and apparently a complete prenuptial molt takes place 
in the spring. I have seen birds in summer, apparently about a 
year old, with long wings and forked tails, in which the crowns and 
upper parts are " fuscous black," the foreheads white, and the under 
parts white, heavily clouded with dusky. At the next molt, the first 
postnuptial, the adult winter plumage is probably assumed. This 
differs from the adult nuptial plumage only in having a few scatter- 
ing white feathers in the crown and the lores. I have not seen suf- 
ficient material, collected at the proper seasons, to work out the sea- 
sonal molts of the adult. 

Food. — The food of the sooty tern seems to consist almost entirely 
of small fishes, which it picks up gracefully off the surface of the 
sea without wetting its plumage. Audubon (1840) says: 

Like some of the smaller gulls, this bird not infrequently hovers close to the 
water to pick up floating objects, such as small bits of fat pork and greasy sub- 
stances thrown overboard purposely for making the experiment. 

Dr. E. W. Nelson (1899) says of the Pacific variety: 

They feed well out at sea, and were not found anywhere along shore, except 
when they came to their roosting place on Isabel Island. There were no signs 
of their roosting about the Tres Marias, although they may roost on some of 
the outlying rocky islets. Grayson found them in small numbers farther 
west, about the Revillagigedo Islands. During our trip to the Tres Marias many 
schools of large fish were encountered swimming close to the surface and con- 
stantly breaking, often with such force and rapidity that the water boiled and 
foamed over considerable areas. These schools of fish were commonly accom- 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 




Dry Tortugas, Florida. 



J. B. Watson. 




Dry Tortugas, Florida. 



Sooty Tern. 

For description see page 336. 



J. B. Watson. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 285 

parried by flocks of sooty terns and gannets, which appeared to be animated by 
the wildest excitement. The terns hovered over the foaming sea, uttering shrill 
cries and darting down into the water, evidently after food; and in the midst 
of the turmoil the blue-footed gannets swam about, beating the water with 
their wings and adding to the noise made by the terns and leaping fish. While 
on Maria Madre I saw a flock of terns some distance offshore, and, taking a 
canoe, managed to get out to them and directly in the course of the school of 
fish they were accompanying. Letting the boat drift I stood up and watched 
the swarm go by. Thousands of large fish ^nd hundreds of terns and gannets 
passed the boat on every side, amid loud cries from the terns, a rushing sound 
from the fish and gannets, and a bewildering complexity of motion in sea and 
air that was intensely exciting. This novel sight was so interesting that I 
came near losing a chance to secure some of the birds. 

Behavior. — Dr. Frank M. Chapman (1908) says of the flight of 
this species : 

Sooty terns in flight are much like common terns, and, when alarmed, they 
have the common tern's habit of hanging in the air above their nests. Because 
of their comparative tameness and of the steadiness of the easterly trade wind, 
an admirable opportunity was presented to observe these birds in the air at 
close range. So even was the breeze that the birds, all facing it, seemed to be 
suspended and motionless. There was, in truth, but little change in their posi- 
tion, but it was maintained by constant adjustment to the slight variations in 
the force and direction of the wind. Wings were raised or lowered, widely 
spread, or partly closed; tails depressed or slightly elevated, and fan-like, 
opened or shut. In short, there was a ceaseless, if unconscious, effort on the 
part of the birds to maintain the balance between gravity acting in one direc- 
tion, and air pressure in another, and so well did they succeed that it was a 
common sight to see one put its foot through its inner wing feathers and 
scratch its ear with as much ease as though it had been on its nest. 

Professor Watson (1908) noted that the sooty tern seldom, if ever, 
perched upon the stakes, buoys, or other resting places, as the noddy 
does, but spends most of its time on the wing when away from its 
breeding place. He writes : 

I think the sooty always leaves the island and returns to it without at any 
time having ceased its flight. This seems rather remarkable when we take into 
account the fact that the sooty leaves the island in the early morning and 
oftentimes does not return until toward nightfall. 

The sooties often soar round and round, getting higher and higher until lost 
to sight. They usually join the frigate birds in this reaction. I am inclined 
to think that the sooty when sufficiently fed spends a large part of its time in 
such maneuvers. 

Audubon (1840) also remarks that this "species rarely alights on 
the water, where it seems incommoded by its long tail ; " also that it 
"never dives headlong and perpendicularly, as the smaller species 
are wont to do, but passes over its prey in a curved line, and picks it 
up. Nor is the flight of this tern characterized by the buoyancy and 
undecidedness, if I may so speak, of the other species mentioned 
above, it being as firm and steady as that of the Cayenne tern, ex- 
cepting during the movements performed in procuring its food." 



286 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

On its breeding grounds the sooty tern is not only a very active 
and nervous bird, but a very noisy one as well. Its shrill, piercing 
cries create an incessant din ; it is almost never quiet, even at night. 
One can hardly make himself heard in the rookeries by day and it is 
difficult to sleep near them at night. Doctor Chapman (1908) de- 
scribes the notes as follows : 

The sooty's common flight note is a squeaky quack and a clearly enunciated, 
high-pitched ker-wacky-wack. Nesting birds when disturbed uttered a sharp 
barking note, changing to a long-drawn, aggressive squawk, suggesting the notes 
of an annoyed brooding hen. Indeed, as one crawled through the more or less 
open spaces beneath the bushes with birds protesting or retreating, one seemed 
to have invaded a densely populated hen yard. 

Mr. C. J. Maynard's (1896) version is only slightly different. He 



The ordinary notes of the sooty tern are extremely harsh, sounding like 
" Quanck," * quanck ; " but when disturbed on their breeding grounds they utter 
a double note like " qu-ank." They also, at such times, emit a snarling sound, 
when all the terns on the key will dive downward, and darting outward, fly 
over the surface of the water a short distance, scattering in every direction, 
but will immediately return, and gathering over the intruder, commence their 
noisy cries, continuing until another one of them chances to give this peculiar 
sound, when off they will go again, repeating the maneuver over and over again, 
as long as the object of their aversion remains on the key. 

Winter. — After the breeding season is over and the young birds 
are able to fly the sooty terns leave their breeding grounds and 
wander about the neighboring seacoasts, sometimes much farthei 
north. Many of them winter in the Gulf of Mexico and among the 
West Indies, while others wander south along the tropical coasts of 
South America. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — The Atlantic form breeds from the Florida 
Keys (Dry Tortugas) eastward throughout the Bahamas (At woods, 
Gauldings, and Ship Channel Keys, Acklin, Eleuthera, Watlings, and 
Berry Islands, etc.). Southward throughout the West Indies (Cuba, 
Jamaica, Porto Rico, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Carriacou, etc.) to 
Venezuela (Margarita Island). Westward to British Honduras 
(Belize) . Northward, formerly at least, to southern Texas (Cameron 
and Nueces Counties). Also on tropical islands in the Atlantic 
Ocean at least as far south as equatorial Brazil (Fernando Noronha 
Island) and Ascension Island. Other forms are widely distributed 
in the Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservations : 
In Florida, Tortugas Keys. 

Winter range. — Practically resident throughout most of its breed- 
ing range. Winter range extends north to the Louisiana coast and 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 287 

south to Patagonia (Ascension), Tristan da Cunha, and the Falk- 
land Islands. 

Casual records. — Has wandered north (numerous records) as far 
as Maine (Piscataquis County, October 5, 1878), and New York 
(Lake Champlain, September 6, 1876). Several Bermuda and Eu- 
ropean records, such as England (near Wallingford, June 21, 1869), 
and France (near Verdun, June 15, 1854) . 

Egg dates. — Bahama Islands : Forty-eight records, May 6 to June 
10 ; twenty- four records, May 18 to June 2. Texas : Eight records, 
May 10 to 22. Florida: Six records, April 10 to June 5; three 
records, May 2 to 21. 

STERNA ANAETHETA Scopoli. 
BBIDLED TEEN. 

HABITS. 

The bridled tern so closely resembles its near relative, the sooty 
tern, that it can hardly be distinguished from it in life by the 
casual observer. The two species are intimately associated and very 
abundant among the tropical islands of the West Indies, although 
the sooty is much more abundant than the bridled tern in most 
localities and is more widely distributed. Owing to the difficulty in 
distinguishing the two in life very little comparative study of the 
two has been made, and very little has been published about the 
habits of the bridled tern, but probably most of its habits are 
similar to those of its better-known relative. Both species are known 
to the island natives as "egg birds," about which Dr. Frank M. 
Chapman (1908) says: 

Throughout the Bahamas the name " Egg bird " is applied to the sooty, 
bridled, and noddy terns. The latter part of April these birds come in large 
numbers to certain regularly frequented keys to breed. If their resort be near 
a settlement, they are robbed of their eggs by its inhabitants. In Nassau I have 
seen many of them offered for sale on the street, each one with the shell punc- 
tured as a guarantee that one was not buying a tern. If they are remote 
from human habitation, they are generally preyed upon by the cruising 
spongers, to whose scanty bill of fare fresh eggs are an eagerly sought addi- 
tion. Doubtless there are but few colonies of terns in the Bahamas that 
do not contribute to the food supply of the usually hungry native, hence the 
current name egg bird. Efforts to secure the passage of a law prohibiting 
the taking of the eggs of these birds has failed, and, sentiment aside, provided 
they are permitted to breed and their numbers therefore not decreased, there 
seems to be no reason why, in a country of such limited food products, this 
source of supply should not be drawn upon. 

Nesting. — Although it often resorts to the same islands to breed, 
its nesting habits are somewhat different from those of the sooty tern, 
as the following brief accounts, selected from a large number, will 
show: 



288 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Mr. B. S. Bowdish (1900) found a small colony nesting on Dese- 
cheo Island, near Porto Rico, on June 23, of which he writes : 

These birds are nothing like as common as the noddy. I think it doubtful if 
50 pairs of birds were breeding on the entire island. They are also, I should 
judge, later in their breeding, the only three nesting sites which I found 
occupied containing a single egg in which incubation was only just commenced. 
Also I noted birds showing strong anxiety regarding certain nooks under the 
rocks, quite similar to those where eggs were found, and I have no doubt that 
these were nesting sites selected but not yet laid in. In one such case the 
native caught the male bird on the nest, or at least in the nook. 

The first egg was found in a slightly hollowed spot on a flat rock and arched 
over by a small rock. No pretense at nesting material whatever. The second 
was in a sort of pocket in the face of the cliff at about 40 feet above beach. 
The third was under an overhanging rock about 10 feet above beach. From 
the small amount of data I should judge that the birds almost always select 
rather hidden and covered sites, and from this fact, and the further one that 
they do not sit nearly so close as the noddy, their nests are not so easily found, 
the noddy tern being usually easily seen in its nesting ledge, whereas the 
bridled leaves its nesting site with a dash often before you see it. 

Dr. George W. Field (1894) gives a good account of a small colony- 
near Kingston, Jamaica, as follows: 

At the entrance to Kingston Harbor are several cays, varying in size from a 
mere sand bank to islands of an acre or more in area. The larger of these are 
dignified by names. Between South Cay and Drunkenman Cay there is a small 
island, composed entirely of broken coral rock; in reality it is merely a part 
of the barrier reef above water. Close by and to the southeast of this is a 
larger, sandy cay, with a few broken slabs of loose coral rock, the western end 
of which is covered with mangroves. Upon the former of these islands we 
found, June 15, about a dozen pairs of bridled terns, evidently breeding, but 
from the nature of the place we were able to find but a single young bird in 
the down, for the slabs piled in confusion furnished a labyrinth into which 
they beat a hasty retreat and from which they were not easily dislodged. 
Leaving the island we landed on the wooded island last mentioned and here 
we found three or more pairs breeding. Under a flat rock, supported at one 
end by another rock, we found the single egg laid as usual on the bare sand ; 
the bird darting out at our approach betrayed the place. 

Eggs. — The eggs of the bridled tern are somewhat similar to 
those of the sooty tern, and are nearly as handsome, but they do not 
show such a wide range of variation and are usually much more 
finely and evenly spotted, the bold, striking color patterns being sel- 
dom seen. The ground color is pinkish white, creamy white, or pure 
white, which is generally well covered with rather small spots of 
a great variety of shades of brown, from the darkest shades to bright 
reddish brown, also various shades of drab, gray, violet, and laven- 
der ; occasionally an egg is boldly splashed or blotched with violet- 
gray or lavender, overlaid with bold markings of brilliant shades of 
brown, and producing a very pretty effect. The measurements of 20 
eggs in the United States National Museum average 46 by 33.2 
millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 49.5 by 
31.7, 47.5 by 35.5, 40.6 by 31.7 and 43.1 by 31.2 millimeters. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 289 

Plumages. — The downy young bridled tern is gray, to match the 
rocks on which it is born. The color varies from very light gray to 
dark gray or drab-gray, and it is usually tinged with buff; the 
under parts are grayish white and the throat is dark gray ; the upper 
parts are more or less mottled with dark brown. The young bird, 
in the juvenal plumage, has the forehead and the entire under parts 
pure white. The crown and hind neck is " light gull gray," lightly 
streaked on the crown and heavily streaked on the cervix with black. 
The feathers of the back, lesser wing-coverts, or scapulars, are edged 
with pale buff, which fades or wears away during the fall and winter, 
leaving the back " gull gray " and somewhat mottled. The sequence 
of plumages to maturity, so far as we can tell from the limited 
material available, is apparently similar to that of the other small 
species of the genus Sterna. The same is probably true of the molts 
and plumages of the adult. The adult in winter may be distin- 
guished from the young of the year by having no buffy edgings on 
the upper parts, but the fresh feathers of the back are broadly tipped 
with very " pale gull gray," or whitish ; and the head is more dis- 
tinctly marked with black and white, though in a similar pattern to 
that of the young bird. 

Food. — Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1916) says of the food of the 
bridled tern : 

Of five stomachs examined one was entirely empty. Fish remains were pres- 
ent in all the other stomachs, and amounted to 70 per cent. One species was 
identified as a filefish (Alutera, species). Mollusks (25 per cent) were repre- 
sented by a gastropod and a cephalopod (Spirula australis), the latter one of 
the few of that order bearing a shell that exist to-day. Miscellaneous matter (5 
per cent) consisted of a moth and a small echinoderm. Fish and marine mol- 
lusks form the large bulk of the food, and under present conditions the birds 
are to be considered harmless, as the fish eaten are not of economic importance. 

In its feeding habits, flight, vocal performances, and general be- 
havior it is apparently similar to the sooty tern. I can not find that 
anyone has noted any special peculiarities of the bridled tern. On its 
breeding ground it is often intimately associated with other tropical 
terns in large colonies, also with boobies and other water birds, with 
all of whom it seems to live in perfect harmony. At the close of the 
breeding season, in August or September, it leaves with the others 
and wanders about over adjacent seas and coasts during the winter. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range.— -The American form breeds in the Bahamas 
(Acklin, Eleuthera, and Berry Islands, Atwoods, Samana, French, 
and Gauldings Keys, etc.). Southward throughout the West Indies 
(Dominica, Jamaica, Porto Rico, St. Thomas, etc.) to Venezuela 
(Aruba Island). Westward throughout the Caribbean Sea to 



290 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

British Honduras (Saddle Cay). Other forms are found in the 
Eastern Hemisphere and in the Pacific Ocean. 

Winter records. — Practically the same as the breeding range. 

Casual records. — One record each for South Carolina (Frogmore, 
August 25, 1885), Georgia (coast, September, 1912), and Florida 
(Audubon's specimen, probably taken in Florida Keys). 

Egg dates.— Bahama Islands: Thirty-three records, April 12 to 
June 26 ; seventeen records, May 16 to June 8. 

CHLIDONIAS NIGRA SURINAMENSIS (Gmelin). 
BLACK TEHN. 

HABITS. 

A prairie slough, teeming with bird life is one of the most fasci- 
nating spots for an ornithologist, for nowhere else can he come in 
close touch with such a variety of species of interesting birds, with 
such a multitude of individuals crowded into a narrow space and 
under such favorable conditions for observation. I have never en- 
joyed anything more keenly than the long drives we used to take 
over the virgin prairies of North Dakota, drawn by a lively pair of 
unshod bronchos, unconfined by fences or roads, with nothing to 
guide us but the narrow wagon ruts which marked the section lines 
and served as the only highways. In those days the prairies were 
like a sea of grass, as boundless as the ocean and nearly as level, 
where only the distant horizon marked the limit of our view. The 
prairie birds were interesting but widely scattered over a vast area. 
In the timber belts along the streams the small land birds were 
swarming in the only available trees; but the real bird life of the 
region was to be seen in the thickly populated slough. We seemed 
to be driving on and on into limitless space until suddenly we came 
to a depression in the prairie marked by a steep embankment, and 
there, 10 feet below the level of the prairie, lay a great slough spread 
out before us. Various ducks — mallards, pintails, shovellers, and 
blue-winged teal — began rising from the surface as we appeared, and 
way out in the open water in the center of the slough we could see 
redheads, canvasbacks, and ruddy ducks swimming about in scattered 
flocks. An occasional pied-billed or horned grebe and scores of 
coots were scurrying in and out among the reeds, clucking and scold- 
ing or pattering away over the water. King-billed and Franklin's 
gulls and a few Forster's terns were floating overhead. The loud 
cries of marbled godwits, western willets, and killdeers betokened 
their anxiety as they flew about us. Dainty little Wilson's pha- 
laropes were flitting about the edges of the marsh, and from the 
recesses of the reeds came the cackling notes of soras and Virginia 
rails. Blackbirds, redwings, and yellowheads fairly swarmed in the 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 




.Ml&Lf. 






■<•*#* 



Wtik^P -^t^^S^^Utfr : ^>:u- ^;t^ **S %i 



Steele County, North Dakota. 



A. C. Bent. 




Steele County, North Dakota. 



A. C. Bent. 



Black Tern. 

For description see page 336. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 291 

reeds, and the constant din of their rhythmic notes gave volume to 
the grand chorus of varied voices that were ringing in our ears. And 
last but not least, among all this great concourse of bird life, was 
the subject of this sketch, the black tern, flitting hither and thither, 
one of the most active and the most restless of the throng. 

Nesting. — Among all the water birds of the middle west I suppose 
the black tern is the most widely distributed, the most universally 
common and the most characteristic summer resident of the sloughs, 
marshes, and wet meadows of the plains. The center of its abun- 
dance seems to be in the great, flat marsh country of Manitoba, where 
we found it everywhere the commonest and most conspicuous water 
bird in the extensive cane swamps about Lake Winnipegosis and 
Waterhen Lake, breeding anywhere in wet marshy situations. In 
the tall, thick growth of canes (Phragmites communis) their nests 
were widely scattered and hard to find, but wherever the canes were 
beaten down or partially open they had placed their frail nests on 
the dead and fallen canes of the previous year's growth, and about 
the little open marshy ponds we found them nesting in small colonies. 
If we did not find the nests it was not through any fault of the terns, 
for they did the best they could to show us by their actions where 
their treasures were hidden. There are few birds that are bolder, 
more solicitous or more aggressive than these little terns in the de- 
fense of their eggs, and even before the eggs are laid they will indi- 
cate by their actions the exact locality they have chosen. The short, 
sharp notes of protest come thicker and faster, as the intruder ap- 
proaches, and when he is fairly among them their cries are prolonged 
into hard, shrill, angry screams, as the excited terns dart down upon 
his head, striking him again and again if he does not retreat. By 
making use of this telltale habit we were able to locate a number of 
nests in the hidden recesses of the tall canes, where they were suffi- 
ciently open for the bird to drop down upon the nest from above or 
to rise from it without becoming entangled in the canes. Some of 
these nests were quite elaborate and well made, resembling miniature 
nests of Forster's terns or Franklin's gulls, but more often they con- 
sisted of a few pieces of dead canes or reeds loosely arranged, and 
sometimes the eggs were laid in a mere depression in the prostrate 
and closely matted vegetation. In one little open slough hole we 
found four nests within a radius of 5 yards, but this is closer than 
they are usually placed. One of these was on the edge of a large 
muskrat house, just above the water level, and another was built on 
the remains of an old submerged muskrat nest. 

In North Dakota in 1901 we found small colonies of black terns 
nesting in open situations in the sloughs, where the water was 1 
or 2 feet deep and where numerous little piles of dead and par- 



292 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

tially rotted reeds and flags were floating. The nests were usually 
very flimsy affairs, a few loosely arranged bits of reeds and flags 
serving to raise the eggs an inch or so above the water. Often the 
eggs were laid in slight depressions in this floating rubbish, with no 
apparent attempt at nest building, where the eggs were wet and 
nearly awash. In Saskatchewan we found a small colony on June 
24, 1906, breeding in a wet, grassy meadow where the water was 
only a few inches deep. The nests all contained fresh eggs and 
were merely small piles of rubbish floating among the scattered 
growth of short green meadow grass. I have several sets of eggs 
in my collection, taken by Mr. Gerald B. Thomas in Livermore, 
Iowa, during the last week in July. The nests were located in 
sunken muskrat houses, old grebe nests, and an old coot nest. Nests 
of the black tern often have substantial foundations of water mosses 
and other soft vegetable substances, which some writers seem to 
think are built by the birds. I think, however, that the black tern 
never gathers any such materials and that these foundations are 
either old grebes' nests, or merely floating masses of muck, selected 
by the terns, on which only the superstructure of the nest is built 
by them. 

Mr. J. C. Knox (1899), who has seen the nest-building process, 
gives the following account of it : 

I had always before believed that the black tern merely hollowed out a 
nest on a bog and deposited her eggs there, but I was now undeceived. As I 
was walking along I happened to glance upward and saw a black tern with 
something in her bill. She was coming directly toward me, so I dropped down 
out of sight in a clump of green rushes. Just in front of me was the remains 
of an old muskrat house, now little more than a bog — a capital place for a 
tern's nest. Here she alighted and deposited her weed stem on the edge of a 
little hollow near one edge of the bog; then she flew away again, but soon 
returned with another weed and deposited that. I watched her for half an 
hour, and during that time she made 14 trips to the nest, bringing material each 
time, and twice her mate came with her. When I left the nest was not 
completed, but I think she had quit nest building for that morning. Many of the 
eggs of this species are laid on a bare bog, with no nest at all, but in this 
instance a nest was made and the materials, which could have been had directly 
at hand, were brought from a distance. 

Occasionally nests of this species are placed on pieces of driftwood 
or boards where they are very conspicuous, but usually they are very 
hard to see, as both nests and eggs match their surroundings per- 
fectly. 

Eggs. — The eggs of the black tern are very handsome and are 
subject to considerable variation. Many of these resemble the eggs 
of some of the Limicolae, as they are often somewhat pointed. The 
average shape is ovate, with a decided tendency in some specimens 
toward ovate pyriform. The shell is thin and has a dull luster. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 70 




Barr Lake, Colorado. 



R. B. Rockwell. 



Black Tern. 

For description see page 336. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 293 

The ground color shows a great variety of shades of olive and buff, 
from " Dresden brown " to " clay color," and from " deep olive buff " 
to "ivory yellow." The eggs are usually heavily marked with the 
darkest shades of brown, " blackish brown," " seal brown," " bister," 
and " mummy brown ;" sometimes the eggs are evenly sprinkled all 
over with fine dots, but more often with larger spots and blotches 
unevenly arranged. Frequently the markings, of either type, be- 
come confluent in a ring around the larger end of the egg, and occa- 
sionally large bold markings of different shades of brown produce 
handsome effects. The measurements of 122 eggs, in the United 
States National Museum, average 34 by 24 millimeters; the eggs 
showing the four extremes measure 37 by 25.5, 35.5 by 26.5, 31.5 by 
23 and 32 by 22.5 millimeters. 

In the southern portions of its range the black tern apparently 
raises two broods, at least occasionally, for fresh eggs are frequently 
found in May and again in July. As very few, if any, of the water 
birds raise two broods in a season, it may be that these late sets may 
be second or third layings of pairs previously robbed of their eggs. 
Some good observers, however, seem to think that two broods are 
regularly raised in some localities. The full set is almost always 
three eggs, occasionally two, and very rarely four or even five. Per- 
sonally I have never seen a set of four eggs, and think it is an ex- 
ceedingly rare occurrence. Smaller sets than these are probably 
second layings. Dr. E. W. Nelson, according to Dr. T. S. Roberts 
(1877), says: 

I have seen the eggs of Sterna plumbea deposited on masses of floating 
weeds in several instances, but only for the third brood, the bird having pre- 
viously built two nests and deposited the eggs in both, which had been re- 
moved by myself to ascertain how many they would lay. The result was 
almost invariably as follows: First nest, three eggs; second nest, two eggs; 
and the third, one egg. 

Dr. Frank M. Chapman (1904) has learned that the period of 
incubation is 17 days. Audubon (1840) states that both sexes incu- 
bate — a difficult matter to determine, as a black tern is seldom seen 
on its nest. 

Young.- — The young remain in the nest but a few days, and even 
before that time they will leave it on the approach of danger. Doctor 
Chapman (1904) gives an interesting illustration of this in his ac- 
count of the home life of this species. He says : 

Three days later we visited the nest, expecting to see a pair of downy 
young, but, to our surprise and disappointment, it was deserted. Evidently, 
however, there was something not far away in which the terns were greatly 
concerned. With piercing screams they darted at us, once actually hitting Mr. 
Seton's hat. 



294 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Search failing to reveal any sign of the young birds, the camera was left to 
play detective. Focusing it on the empty nest and surrounding it with "cat- 
tails," we attached some 70 feet of tubing and retired to the high grasses of a 
neighboring dry bank. But we were not hidden from the tern. She hovered 
over us, shrieking her disgust with scarcely a pause, turning her long beak to 
this side and that, as she brought each eye in turn to bear. Finally, her craiks 
grew softer, and, fluttering over the nest, she uttered a soft wlieent-ioJieent- 
wheent, which probably meant to her downings " It's all right ; come back home 
now." After half a minute of this calling she fluttered lower and dropped out 
of sight behind the reed barriers. Apparently, there could be little doubt that 
with her voice she had conjured the chicks back to the nest. 

Acting on this belief, a dozen rapid strokes were given to the bicycle pump at 
the end of the tube, and the tern promptly flew up into the air, uttering her loud 
craik-craik in a way that plainly showed something had happened close by to 
alarm her, and thus plainly told us that the shutter on the camera had been 
sprung. Instantly we rushed through the mud and water to the nest, but only 
to find it as empty as before. 

Inserting a fresh plate in the camera, we returned to our hiding place. Again 
the tern scolded us vigorously, but after a while, as before, her fears seemed to 
decrease ; she gradually drew nearer to the nest and eventually dropped lightly 
down into the reeds, evidently on it. After waiting a moment for her to settle 
herself, the bicycle pump was again used, and at the twelfth plunge of the pis- 
ton the tern shot upward as though she were blown from the end of the tube. 
We accepted her action as an unfailing indication that the shutter was properly 
released and once more splashed quickly through the water to see what we might 
see ; but only an empty nest met our gaze, and we were as ignorant of the fate 
of the young terns as we had been in the beginning. 

The continued anxiety of the parents, however, encouraged us to continue our 
efforts to solve the mysterious disappearance of their chicks, and, after several 
more attempts similar to those just related, we reached the nest just in time to 
see the two little ones paddling away into the surrounding reeds, like ducklings. 
This caused us to believe that on each occasion they had returned to the nest 
only to desert it again as the old bird left them ; but it was not until the plates 
were developed, a month later, that we could really put together the whole 
story. 

The young birds are fed by their parents until they are able to fly. 
Rev. W. F. Henninger writes to me that they seem to be fed on 
" spiders, water scorpions, flies, and perhaps other swamp-loving in- 
sects, fragments of the first three being found in the nests with 
young." Mr. Frank M. Woodruff has sent me a photograph showing 
a black tern alighting on its nest with a large dragon fly in its bill, 
presumably for its young. The young terns develop very fast and 
soon learn to fly, but their parents continue to feed them more or 
less, sitting in long rows on the fences about the marshes or on pieces 
of drift wood waiting to be fed. Audubon (1840) says that he has 
" seen the parent birds feed them on the wing in the manner of 
swallows." 

Plumages. — The young of the black tern, when first hatched, is a 
swarthy individual, entirely different from the young of other terns. 
It is thickly covered with long, soft, silky down, " cinnamon drab " 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 71 




It, - 




Minneapolis, Minnesota. 



Jenness Richardson 




Minneapolis, Minnesota 



Jenness Richardson. 



Black Tern. 

For description see page 336. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 295 

on the throat, neck, and sides, shading off to " pale drab gray " on the 
belly and cheeks ; the upper parts are rich " cinnamon," heavily 
blotched with " fuscous black." When very young the sides of the 
head, including the orbital region, the cheeks, the lores, and some- 
times a narrow frontal strip, are pure white. This feature becomes 
less conspicuous as the bird grows older. As the bird attains its full 
size the down is gradually replaced with feathers, beginning on the 
wings, scapulars, and the sides of the breast; but much of the cin- 
namon down remains on the head, neck, and crissum until the Juve- 
nal plumage replaces it at the flight stage in July. 

By the time that the young bird has attained its full growth the 
juvenal plumage has been fully acquired and the flight stage reached. 
This plumage is worn through August and September, and perhaps 
later. The upper parts are decidedly brown and often the under parts 
are extensively washed with brownish, dusky, or drab on the sides 
of the neck and chest, on the flanks and sometimes on the entire 
belly. The feathers of the back and scapulars are broadly mar- 
gined with " clove brown " and narrowly tipped with whitish. The 
forehead is dirty white, the crown and occiput are mainly black, and 
the auriculars, as well as a ring around the eye, are pure black. 
The browns gradually fade and the light edgings wear away during 
the fall, but there is probably also a partial post juvenal molt of 
the contour feathers. The first winter plumage is then much like the 
adult, but young birds can be recognized by having smaller bills, 
more or less signs of light edgings in the wing- coverts and back, and 
tails which are much less deeply forked, the lateral rectrices being 
broader and more rounded at the tips. I have not been able to trace 
very clearly the first prenuptial molt, but apparently a majority of 
the young birds acquire at this molt a plumage which is exactly or 
nearly like the adult nuptial, with more or less white in the black 
areas. Many birds, however, seem to wear the first winter plumage 
or a new one closely resembling it, until the first postnuptial molt, 
which occurs in June and July. This molt produces the adult winter 
plumage. 

Adults have two complete molts — the prenuptial early in the 
spring and the postnuptial in July, August, and September. The 
seasonal change is very striking. In the winter plumage the fore- 
head, a nuchal collar, and the entire under parts are white; the 
auriculars and a narrow orbital space are black; the crown and 
occiput are mottled with gray and black; and the mantle, wings, 
and tail are much lighter gray than in the spring — " light neutral 
gray " or paler. 

Food. — The black tern is credited with eating minnows or other 
small fry, but I believe that it rarely does so except when associated 

174785—21 20 



296 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

with other terns on the coast. Mr. William Brewster (1878) says 
of their feeding habits in Massachusetts : 

They associated most commonly with the Wilson's and roseate terns, and 
procured their food in the same way, hovering over the schools of bluefish 
and pouncing upon the small fry which these voracious creatures drove to the 
surface. The stomachs of all the specimens which were dissected contained 
the macerated remains of small fishes only. In no case were any insects 
detected. 

My own experience with the bird in this State is somewhat differ- 
ent, for I have seen large numbers of them hovering over the meadows 
and grassy marshes, catching insects in the air and darting down to 
pick them off the tall waving grasses, just as they do in the western 
sloughs. I have also seen them feeding with the common terns, but I 
believe that they prefer insect food when they can find it. In the 
interior the black tern is almost wholly insectivorous; its food in- 
cludes crayfish, small mollusks, dragon flies, moths, grasshoppers, 
crickets, beetles, spiders, water scorpions, flies, and a great variety of 
other insects, nearly all of which are caught on the wing. Dr. E. 
M. Anderson (1907) says: 

They evince little fear of man, and large numbers will often follow a man 
plowing, hovering over his head and looking for grubs turned up by the plow. 
They are often killed with a whip at such times. 

In the South it has been seen capturing the moths of the cotton- 
boll worm in flight over the fields of young plants. Its ability to 
catch dragon flies, one of the swiftest of insects, is sufficient proof 
that the black tern is an expert flycatcher. Mr. Ernest E. Thomp- 
son (1890) says in regard to this performance: 

Besides aquatic insects, the black tern feeds largely on dragon flies, which 
it adroitly captures on the wing. The bird may frequently be seen dashing 
about in a zigzag manner so swiftly the eye can offer no explanation of its 
motive until, on the resumption of its ordinary flights, a large dragon fly is 
seen hanging from its bill and sufficiently accounts for the erratic movements of 
the bird. After having captured its prey in this way I have frequently seen 
a tern apparently playing with its victim, letting it go and catching it again, 
or, if it is unable to fly, dropping it, and darting under it to seize it again and 
again before it touches the water. 

I have watched black terns for hours beating the air over the 
western sloughs, dipping down frequently to pick up some small 
morsel of insect food from the surface of the water, but I have never 
seen them plunge into the water, as they would do if they were after 
minnows. They glean much of their food from the tall, waving 
grasses, reeds, flags, and bullrushes. Their eyes must be very keen to 
find the small insects and spiders which crawl up the stalks to hide, 
and they are certainly expert at swooping down and catching them. 
At certain times, especially when it is blowing hard or raining, count- 
less millions of mosquitoes, flies, small dragon flies, and other small 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 297 

insects seek shelter on the lee sides of the reeds, which means a 
bountiful harvest for the terns. 

Behavior. — The black tern is a restless waif of the air, flitting 
about hither and thither with a wayward, desultory flight, light and 
buoyant as a butterfly. Its darting zigzag flight as it mounts into the 
air to chase a fluttering moth is suggestion of a flycatcher or a night- 
hawk; as it skims swiftly over the surface of the water it reminds 
me of a swallow; and its true relationship to the terns is shown as 
it hovers along over the billowy tops of a great sea of tall waving 
grass, dipping down occasionally to snatch an insect from the 
slender, swaying tops. When looking for food the bill is usually 
pointed downward, but in ordinary flight it points forward. Mr. 
Thompson (1890) made some calculations as to the speed at which 
this tern flies and arrived at the following conclusions : 

A large number of observations resulted in an average of three wins beats 
per second, with the greatest of regularity ; another series of observations, not 
so satisfactory, allowed a distance of 5 yards to be traversed at each beat. 
This gave only the disappointing rate of something over 30 miles per hour, 
but this was at the uncertain foraging flight. Once the mother tern has se- 
cured her load of provender a great change takes place, as already mentioned. 
She rises high in air, and I am sure she doubles her former rate of speed, and 
straight as a ray of light makes for home. It is said that many birds can not 
fly with the wind ; not so the tern ; for now, if there be a gale blowing her way, 
she mounts it like a steed and adds its swiftness to her own, till she seems to 
glance across the sky, and vanishes in the distance with a speed that would 
leave far behind even the eagle, so long the symbol of all that was dashing and 
swift. 

The ordinary call note of the black tern, given in flight when not 
particularly disturbed, is a short, sharp, shrill, metallic " krik" 
When much excited this is prolonged into a shrill scream like 
" kreek " or " craik" given with ear-piercing vehemence when at- 
tacking an intruder near its nest. Mr. Henninger, according to 
Doctor Chapman (1904) ' contributed the following interpretation 
of the notes : 

Call note, "Icleea"; note of anger and anxiety, " karr krr "; ordinary note 
heard while on the wing, " gik." 

Doctor Chapman described the note used to call the young as a 
soft " wheent-whee?it-ivheent." 

With all the varied inhabitants of the sloughs, its bird neigh- 
bors, the black tern seems to live in peace and harmony. I have 
never known it to molest the eggs or young of other species, or to at- 
tack the adults, nor can I find in print any evidence of its hostility. 
It is not as sociable as some other species, and its nests are usually 
somewhat apart from others. As a species it is sociable and grega- 
rious to a limited extent, and it shares with other terns the habit of 
gathering in flocks to hover over a fallen companion. 



298 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

Fall. — By the middle or last of August, when the young birds have 
acquired their first winter plumage and most of the adults have com- 
pleted their molt, the fall migration begins in a leisurely way, as 
the birds are in no hurry to reach their winter homes. Their wander- 
ings are more extended at this season and more erratic. Generally a 
few, and sometimes large numbers, of black terns, mostly in immature 
plumage, are seen on the Atlantic coast from New England south- 
ward, sometimes in large flocks by themselves frequenting the marshes 
and wet meadows, but more often in small numbers mingled with 
other terns and gulls along the coast. Rev. M. B. Townsend writes 
to me that he has seen black terns flying over the waters of the Gulf 
of Mexico as early as August 1, some of which were still in full 
spring plumage, some were molting, and some had completed the 
molt into winter plumage. On June 16, 1910, while cruising off the 
coast of Louisiana, I saw a large number of black terns in small 
flocks ; I counted 10 of them sitting on a stick of drift timber, equally 
spaced about a foot apart. They evidently thought that there was 
no more standing room, for they would not allow another bird to 
alight on the log, although several tried to do so. Capt. W. M. 
Sprinkle told me that they breed in the West Indies in February, 
appear here early in May, and remain all summer. I am more in- 
clined to think that these were nonbreeding birds which failed to 
migrate northward in the spring. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Interior of North America. East to eastern On- 
tario (Kingston and Charleston Lake) and west central New York 
(Cayuga Lake). South to northern Ohio (Sandusky), northern In- 
diana (English Lake), northern Illinois (Cook, Putnam, and Henry 
Counties), central Iowa (Hamilton County), northern Nebraska 
(Holt and Cherry Counties), north central Colorado (Barr Lake 
region), north central Utah (Utah Lake), western Nevada (Washoe 
Lake), and southern California (Elsinore Lake). West to central 
California (San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys), central southern 
Oregon (Klamath Lakes), east central Washington (Brook Lake), 
and central British Columbia (Chilcotin). North in the interior to 
central Alaska (Fort Yukon), Great Slave Lake, and central Mani- 
toba (Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Winnipeg). 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservations : 
In Oregon, Klamath Lake, and Malheur Lake. 

Winter range. — From the Gulf of Mexico southward to northern 
South America (Surinam), and along the Pacific coasts of Mexico 
(Mazatlan), Panama, Peru, and Chile. Nonbreeding and young 
birds remain in the Gulf of Mexico all summer. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 299 

Spring migration. — A few birds migrate up the Atlantic coast and 
across the Great Lakes to the interior. Transient dates : Maryland, 
May IT to 30; Pennsylvania, Erie, April 27; New York, Carmel, 
April 9; Massachusetts, Framingham, June 20; New Hampshire, 
Lake Winnipesaukee, June 10. The main flight is northward 
through the interior. Early dates of arrival: Missouri, St. Louis, 
April 29 ; Iowa, Floyd County, March 28 ; Wisconsin, May ville, March 
22 ; Minnesota, Heron Lake, May 1 ; Manitoba, Oak Lake, May 17 ; 
Great Slave Lake, Fort Resolution, June 5. 

Fall migration. — Eastward, at irregular intervals, to the Atlantic 
coast from Nova Scotia southward and then down the coast to its 
winter range. Transient dates: Prince Edward Island, September 
13; Nova Scotia, Sable Island, September 9; Massachusetts, August 
7 to September 26 ; New Jersey, August 4 to October 20 ; North Caro- 
lina, July 28 to September 23 ; Florida, Tarpon Springs, September 
15. Transient dates for the interior : Nebraska, August 8 to October 
15; Kansas, July 25 to September 14; Missouri, up to October 21. 
Pacific coast dates: British Columbia, Sumas, up to September 1; 
Washington, Bellingham Bay, up to August 26; California, Point 
Pinos, August 2 to September 23; Lower California, San Jose del 
Cabo, September 6 and 7, and Cape San Lucas, September 16 ; Mexico, 
Mazatlan, arrives in October. 

Casual records. — Accidental in Bermuda (October, 1876). The 
more northern Atlantic coast records might be classed as casual. 

Egg dates. — Minnesota and North Dakota: Thirty-six records, 
May 25 to August 4; eighteen records, June 5 to 13. California: 
Twenty-six records, May 11 to July 2; thirteen records, May 19 to 
June 8. Illinois and Iowa : Twenty- four records, May 11 to July 28 ; 
twelve records, June 6 to 18. Manitoba and Saskatchewan: Nine- 
teen records, May 28 to July 5 ; ten records, June 6 to 14. 

CHLIDONIAS LEUCOPTERA (Temminck). 
WHITE-WINGED BLACK TEEN. 

HABITS. 

The following quotation from Kumlien and Hollister (1903) con- 
tains all we know of this beautiful Old World species as a bird of 
the North American Continent: 

The only known instance of the occurrence of this species on the Western 
Continent is that of a breeding female shot by L. Kumlien in a large marsh near 
Black Hawk Island, Lake Koshkonong, July 5, 1873. The specimen was sent 
freshly skinned to Doctor Brewer and was presented by him to the United 
States National Museum. The partially denuded abdomen and well-formed 
ova prove that it would have bred, whether with its own kind or with the 
common species we know not, as no others were seen at the time nor since, 



300 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

although days have been spent in the tern colonies for almost no other purpose 
than the vain hope of seeing more of them. The bird was quite noticeable 
among the enormous numbers of black terns; so much so that there is no spe- 
cial need for any one to sacrifice the life of any of the common species under 
the delusion that it may prove to be leucoptera when in hand. 

Nesting. — Yarrell (1871) says: 

The white-winged black tern nests in marshes, sometimes in company with 
the black tern, where, as in Central Europe the latter preponderates, but in 
large colonies of its own in southeastern Russia and Siberia, where it is the 
dominant species. Its eggs, deposited on the floating vegetation in May and 
June, are usually three in number, of an olivaceous-buff, boldly blotched, and 
streaked with dark brown, and spotted with gray of different shades. Average 
measurements about 1.35 by 1 inch. 

Eggs.— Morris (1903) states: 

They arrive at their summer haunts in the month of May and disappear in 
July and August. The eggs of this species are three or four in number, with 
many grayish spots, and some larger blackish red ones, the ground color 
being dull yellowish olive. They are of a rotund form. The male and female 
birds sit on them in turn and show much anxiety for their safety, flying at 
and about all intruders. 

The eggs of this species seem to be indistinguishable from those of 
the common black tern. The measurements of 42 eggs, in various 
collections, averaged 34.9 by 24.9 millimeters; the eggs showing the 
four extremes measure 37 by 25.1, 35 by 26, 32.5 by 24.4 and 33.5 
by 23 millimeters. 

Plumages. — Yarrell (1871) describes the plumage changes as fol- 
lows : 

The nestling is of a nearly uniform rufous-buff, slightly darker on the 
throat; the crown and back streaked and mottled with blackish-brown. The 
immature bird in August has the bill livid brown; lores and forehead white; 
crown and nape brownish-gray; a dark streak behind the ear-coverts. Sides 
of the neck white, tinted with buff; upper back and scapulars slate-gray, 
tipped or overlaid with brown, which gradually wears off; back gray, mottled 
with brown, rump white, passing to gray on the tail-coverts; tail feathers 
gray, darker and browner at tips ; primaries darker on inner webs than in the 
adults; under wing-coverts and under parts white. By the end of the follow- 
ing summer the brown tips have completely passed away, leaving only a mottled 
bar along the carpals to indicate immaturity; and in the following spring, 
when the bird is nearly 2 years old, it assumes the black nuptial garb. The 
tail feathers, however, do not become quite white for some years, and it may 
be that this takes longer with the females than with the males ; otherwise there 
appear to be no appreciable external differences between the sexes when fully 
matured. In the autumn molt the black portions of the plumage become white 
on the head, neck, and underparts, and slate-gray on the mantle. A specimen 
in the editor's collection, obtained near Valencia, in Spain, on the 25th of 
July, presents « remarkably piebald appearance. Some black is never absent 
from the nape and ear coverts, and in mature and vigorous birds the black 
of the under parts soon begins to make its reappearance. 



LIFE HISTOEIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 301 

Food, — Macgillivray (1852) says: 

It is said to feed chiefly on aquatic insects and worms, especially dragon- 
flies, moths, and other winged insects, seldom on fishes. 

Yarrell (1871) adds "the larvae of water insects," and Morris 
(1903) includes "the fry of fish." 
Behavior. — Yarrell (1871) says: 

In its flight it is more rapid than the black tern, and it is said to have a 
louder and harsher voice than that species. 

Evidently it is closely related to the black tern, and apparently 
a detailed account of its life history would agree very closely with 
what we know of our own familiar bird of the western sloughs. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — Central and southeastern Europe from central 
Russia southward, also westward in Galicia, Hungary, and occa- 
sionally Bavaria; in Asia, across Siberia to the Amur Valley and 
southward to Turkestan; in Africa, said to breed in Algeria. The 
Australian bird has been separated as a distinct subspecies. 

Winter range. — In Africa, south to Cape Colony; in southern 
Asia and south to Australia and New Zealand. 

Casual records. — Accidental in Denmark, Sweden, and Great 
Britain. Taken once in West Indies (Barbados, October 24, 1888) 
and once in Wisconsin (Lake Koshkonong, July 5, 1873). 

Egg dates. — Central Europe : Twenty records, May 17 to June 14 ; 
ten records, May 28 to June 9. 

ANOUS STOLIDUS (Linnaeus). 
NODDY. 
HABITS. 

This dusky tropical species enjoys a wide distribution on both sides 
of the Equator in both of our great oceans, and shows so little geo- 
graphical variation that our Atlantic and Pacific birds are scarcely 
separable. It resorts to many different islands throughout its range 
to breed, and its nesting habits vary considerably in different locali- 
ties. Although much has been published regarding its habits during 
the breeding season we know very little about its life history at other 
seasons. 

Spring.— Mr. W. E. D. Scott (1891) has published some interest- 
ing notes by Mr. Charles B. Taylor, regarding the arrival of the 
noddies on Morant Cays, near Jamaica, from which I quote, as 
follows : 

At the time of my arrival at the Cays (2d of April) there were no sooty 
terns there and very few noddies, but these latter increased in numbers daily, 
until by the IDtii of April, the date of my departure, they had assembled io 



302 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

hundreds and were evidently preparing to lay, yet in two females taken two 
or three days after my arrival the eggs in the ovaries were very small. 

Soon after sunset the birds came in to roost among the low bushes fringing 
the shore, and up to a late hour many kept arriving. They flew very swiftly, 
just skimming the surface of the water, and standing on the shore at dusk 
(the time they began to arrive) it was rarely possible to see the birds coming 
until they were actually on the island. They alighted noiselessly and instantly 
on gaining the fringing bushes ; later in the month, however, as their numbers 
increased, belated birds found difficulty in effecting an easy landing among the 
branches, those already in possession pecking right and left at all newcomers 
and croaking harshly. Each day, as their numbers increased, they became more 
vociferous, until at last the melancholy wail of those flying overhead and the 
croak of the sitting birds was kept up without intermission all through the 
night. On moonlight nights they appeared unusually abundant and restless. 

I have watched them there until far into the night, as in scores they kept 
flying to and from the bushes. Although up and about before dawn on most 
mornings, I was seldom in time to watch the noddies leave their roost. One 
morning, however, I got a good idea of their numbers. It wanted about an 
hour or so of daybreak, and the moon was still bright, when someone walking 
along the shore appeared to give a general alarm. Scores of birds got up and 
went swiftly out to sea, and for some little time a constant stream poured out 
from the bushes along the shores in every direction, as far as it was possible 
to see ; flying before the wind, they went out of sight in an instant. They left 
the land always in the same manner in which they came in to roost, dropping 
to the surface of the water immediately on clearing the shore. Notwithstanding 
their apparent abundance, the noddies, in point of numbers, sink into compara- 
tive insignificance after the arrival of the sooty terns. 

Prof. John B. Watson (1908) has made a most thorough and 
scientific study of the behavior of this species and the sooty tern on 
their famous breeding grounds in the Dry Tortugas and I shall quote 
freely from the published results of his observations. He describes 
the island on which they nest as follows: 

Bird Key is a small coral island about 300 yards wide (east and west) by 
400 yards long (north and south). It is 65.8 statute miles due west from Key 
West. The island is partially sheltered on the east and on the northeast by 
a coral reef. Northeast of the island, about 1.125 statute miles distant, stands 
Fort Jefferson, now practically deserted. Still farther to the northeast other 
low coral islands are to be found. Loggerhead Key lies about 4 statute miles 
to the west of Bird Key. Immediately outside of these islands is to be found 
the water of the Gulf of Mexico. The situation of the island shows that it is 
adequately protected from all but the severest southwest storms. The Tortugas 
as a whole are rarely subject to heavy storms during the nesting period of the 
birds. During the past season (1907) only one severe storm visited the island, 
and this was not very destructive to the life of the birds. 

Owing to its juxta-tropical location, its slight elevation, and the condition of 
its surface (largely coral sand) the actual surface temperature of this island 
is very high, ranging at times during the hottest days from 124° to 143° F. 

With the exception of the bay-cedar bushes, which are very abundant upon 
the central and western parts of this island, little vegetation exists. On a cer- 
tain limited portion of its surface (southeastern) a dense growth of cactus is 
to be found. Both cactus and bay cedars are utilized by the noddies for nesting 
places. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 72 




Q 

o I 

Z i 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 303 

No accurate data exist concerning the number of years these two species have 
migrated to this island for the purpose of rearing their young. The oldest 
inhabitants of the neighborhood say that as long as they can remember the 
birds have been going there year after year. The terns arrive at approximately 
the same time each year (during the last week in April), live there until toward 
the 1st of September, and then begin their southern migration. 

Courtship. — The birds are said to be mated before they arrive on 
the island, and, as he did not arrive until five days later than the 
birds, Prof. Watson was unable to observe their earlier actions; 
but he tentatively presents the following account of what is probably 
a mating performance : 

One day I observed several noddies " sunning " upon the wire covering of one 
of my large experimental cages. Suddenly, one of the birds (male) began nod- 
ding and bowing to a bird standing near (female). The female gave immediate 
attention and began efforts to extract fish from the throat of the male. The 
male would first make efforts to disgorge, then put the tip of the beak almost to 
the ground and incline it to the angle most suitable to admit her beak. She 
would then thrust her beak into his (the ordinary feeding reaction). The 
feeding reaction was alternated with the nodding. After this series of acts 
had been repeated 20 times the male flew off and brought a stick. He de- 
posited this near the female and then again offered to feed her. She again tried 
to feed ; then the male attempted sexual relations. She immediately flew away, 
but almost immediately returned and alighted at a slightly different place. The 
male again brought the stick and again bowed and offered to feed her. She 
accepted the food, but again flew away when the male attempted to mount her. 
At this juncture the island was disturbed and my observations could not con- 
tinue. 

Nesting. — During his sojourn on Bird Key in 1907 he made an 
accurate count of the noddies' nests " by means of a mechanical 
counting device," which gave a total of 603 active nests. A large 
majority of the nests are built in the bay-cedar bushes at varying 
heights up to about 12 feet. About 20 per cent of them are in the 
cactus growth. 

Very often the nest has the appearance of being constructed directly upon 
the ground, but a closer examination usually shows that it has been built upon 
a tuft of grass or upon the stem of a bush, the branches of which have been 
broken off close to the ground. * * * The noddies apparently do not seek 
to nest in the thickest parts of the bushes. Although isolated nests are 
present even where the shrubs are most dense, by far the majority of them 
are to be found in bushes which border upon open spaces. 

Of the construction of the nest he says : 

The noddy constructs its nest from (1) loose dead branches of the bay- 
cedar bushes; (2) of seaweed; (3) of a combination of these; (4) of a com- 
bination of either or both of these with various kinds of sea shells and coral. 
Wnen the shells and coral are employed they are often placed as an inner 
lining to the nest and the egg is deposited directly upon them. The nest itself 
is a quite variable structure and usually loosely put together. It is very 
shallow, and this is rather singular, since the wind often blows the egg or the 
young to the ground. 



304 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

The nests remaining from year to year are utilized by the birds at successive 
nesting periods; whether cr not by the same pair can not with certainty be 
answered at present. On account of this utilization of the old nest from year 
to year some of the oldest nests have grown to enormous size, due to the addition 
of new materials at each successive season. 

Professor Watson (1908) made an interesting series of observa- 
tions on the methods of nest building and the daily routine of activi- 
ties during this period, but I shall attempt to quote only part of 
what he says about it : 

Both birds work, bringing sticks, seaweed, shells, and coral. Both birds shape 
the nest clumsily by pecking and pulling at the sticks. They never weave the 
sticks so as to form a compact and durable nest. The stick is dropped on the 
rim, then drawn into position. Frequently first one bird then the other sits in 
the nest and shapes it. In order to do this, the bird rises on its feet and de- 
presses its breast and turns round and round. The material is obtained both 
far and near. Floating sticks and seaweed are gathered from the water. They 
frequently alight under the nests of other birds and gather up the fallen 
branches. They even take the material from other nests which are left mo- 
mentarily unguarded. Frequent fights ensue. The birds work neither steadily 
nor rapidly ; 10, 15, 20 minutes may elapse before either makes a trip. 

The male feeds the female while she is building the nest, conse- 
quently it is necessary for him to cease from his labors in assisting her 
and absent himself in search of food. During his absence she also 
ceases her activities, but remains at the nest to guard it from her pil- 
fering neighbors and to repel the advances of other males. On his 
return she is fed as follows : 

The male returns with a full-laden crop. He alights directly upon the nest 
or near the female. The female at once shows signs of life, and as they ap- 
proach each other they beginning nodding. Then the male invites the female 
to feed by putting his beak down to a position convenient to her. She gets the 
food by taking it directly from the mouth of the male, the male disgorging it 
by successive muscular contractions of the throat and abdomen. The impres- 
sion one gets from this ludicrous performance is that the bird is choking to 
death. During the whole of the process of feeding, a soft, nasal, rattling purr 
is emitted, presumably by the female. This purring sound is an invariable indi- 
cation that feeding is taking place. It is to be heard on no other occasion. 

Professor Watson (1908) noted the first eggs on May 4 and found 
that the majority were laid between the 11th and the 16th. He says 
further : 

After the egg is laid a marked change appears in the behavior of both the 
male and the female. The birds will now attack even a human intruder, and 
their defense of the nest against their own kind becomes even more strict than 
before. Oftentimes the birds will sit on the egg and allow themselves to be 
caught, striking viciously all the while with their long, keen, pointed beaks. 
Individuals vary greatly in this respect. On my daily rounds, as I approached 
the vicinity of a group of nests, several noddies would usually advance to meet 
me, striking viciously at my head. Their attacks would continue until I 
withdrew. Many times I have had my hat knocked off and the blood brought 
from my scalp by their vicious attacks. 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 73 




Dry Tortugas, Florida. 



H. K. Job. 




Dry Tortugas, Florida, 



H. K. Job. 



Noddy. 

For description see page 337 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 305 

Still another marked change occurs in the habits of the birds. The male no 
longer feeds the female. Each bird takes equal turns at brooding the egg. My 
attention was first called to this while I was watching the habits of the birds 
before the egg was laid. Several nests in the vicinity of the place of observa- 
tion already contained eggs. At these nests I was never able to observe the 
feeding of the female by the male. At this period the two birds became prac- 
tically automata. Their life is taken up in alternately brooding the egg and 
in feeding. The birds spend little or no time together except at night. The 
one comes to the nest ; the other flies away to feed. 

The egg is generally covered day and night. Occasional trips are made to the 
water for drinking and for wetting the breast feathers. This latter reaction 
has its value possibly in keeping the egg at the proper temperature. The sun 
is so hot that if the egg were left uncovered for any great length of time it 
probably would not incubate. 

The period of incubation is 35 or 36 days. 

Professor Watson (1908) conducted some interesting experiments 
to test the ability of the birds to recognize their mates, their eggs, 
and their nests. Painting or dyeing the plumage disturbed them 
greatly and upset their powers of recognition, but they were " not at 
all affected by changing the hue, brightness, and markings" of the 
eggs, showing that the egg itself is not recognizable. The noddies 
were very much puzzled by moving the nest, which shows that it is 
not the nest that they recognize but its position. 

After the young bird is hatched the parents are still more inter- 
ested in defending the nest. " They will now attack with vigor other 
noddies which approach too near the nest — the sooties and the frigate 
birds." Both parents help in feeding the young coming alternately 
at intervals varying from two to four hours. Professor Watson 
(1908) further says: 

The young are cared for in the nest until they become strong enough to leave 
it and live upon the ground. The young birds born in low nests, even at a 
very early age (20 days and even earlier) clamber from them with alacrity 
and hide in near-by bushes when danger is imminent. In many cases these 
young birds can not get back into the nest. Under these circumstances they 
remain near the nest locality, and the parents on returning first alight on or 
near the nest and later hop to the ground and feed the young bird. It is inter- 
esting to speculate upon the method of recognition between parent and young. 
There can be no doubt at least of an accurate functional recognition. Since 
the noddy is always silent when contented, the evidence is good that recognition 
occurs wholly in terms of vision. Whether recognition of young (or of mate by 
mate) would take place outside of the nest locality is a problem which ought 
to be solved. 

An entirely different method of nesting has been noted by several 
observers in the West Indies. Mr. George N. Lawrence (1864) pub- 
lished the following interesting notes made by Dr. A. A. Julien on 
the island of Sombrero : 

Their nests are of two kinds. For the first the noddy gathers together, by 
carrying in its bill, a considerable quantity of bits of shells, deposits them in a 
shallow cavity of the rock, say 8 to 12 inches in diameter, deepens a little the 



306 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

center of the basin, and thereon lays her egg. Occasionally such a nest is also 
encircled with a few twigs; sometimes it consists of over 50 pieces of shell, 
but more frequently the shells and twigs are so scant that the egg lies upon the 
bare rock. The nests built in the crevices of the cliff, however, consist chiefly 
of twigs, though even these are frequently capped by a few bits of shell, upon 
which the egg immediately lies. The noddies are often thievish when building 
their nests ; where two pair are thus engaged in close proximity, the one will 
often repeatedly carry off to their own nest from that of the other in their 
absence. 

Eggs. — Although the noddy has been said to lay from two to three 
eggs in a set, such cases must be decidedly exceptional, for one egg 
only seems to be the almost invariable rule. If the egg is taken or 
destroyed it will soon be replaced by another, but evidently only one 
young bird is reared in a season by each pair of birds. The egg is 
ovate or slightly elliptical ovate in shape. The shell is thin, smooth, 
and without luster. The ground color varies but slightly, from 
" pale-pinkish buff " to " cartridge buff." It is sparingly spotted 
with small spots or dots, usually more thickly at the larger end, with 
at least two distinct colors. The underlying spots are of various pale 
shades of lilac or lavender and the overlying, more conspicuous, spots 
are of bright shades of deep reddish brown. Some of the brown 
spots seem to be superimposed over the lilac spots or blended with 
them. The eggs can be readily distinguished from those of the 
sooty tern by being much less heavily spotted. The measurements of 
44 eggs, in the United States National Museum, average 52 by 35 milli- 
meters ; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 58 by 37, 54 by 
37.5, 49.5 by 35.5 and 51 by 33 millimeters. 

Young. — According to Professor Watson (1908) : 

The young noddies began to appear on the island about June 9. The first 
few hours after birth they are extremely helpless. During the first day of 
their life they exhibit few signs of fear, making little effort to shrink away 
from the hand. * * * At the end of the first day the birds were able to 
stand fairly erect and to move their heads with some freedom. * * * They 
can not swim at the end of the first day. * * * The note of the young 
noddy is very different from the hoarse, rattling sound of the adult. It is a 
soft, liquid, slow, plaintive "querk-querk-querk." * * * It is absolutely im- 
perative for them to have the free use of the head and eyes and to be able to 
stand erect and to peck during the first day. The feeding parent on returning 
alights near the young bird, puts down its beak, and successively touches and 
taps the beak of the young bird ; then its part of the reaction is at an end, pro- 
vided by successive disgorgements it keeps its beak and throat filled with small 
minnows. The young bird must stand up and strike the beak of the parent 
until the parent opens its beak sufficiently wide to admit the beak of the young 
bird. When the fish in the mouth of the parent come in contact with the 
buccal cavity of the young, the swallowing reflex follows perfectly. 

He reared three young noddies, feeding them by hand, until they 
were 30 days old, and his detailed notes are well worth reading. On 
the fourth day they began to learn to swim; after the eleventh day 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 74 







Dry Tortugas, Florida. 



Joseph Thompson. 




Dry Tortugas, Florida. 



Noddy. 

For description see page 337. 



Joseph Thompson. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 307 

they were able to eat food deposited near them, as the adult often 
disgorges the food on the rim of the nest. They also soon learn to 
keep the nest clean by forcing their fecal matter far out over the 
rim of the nest. At just what age they learn to fly he does not state. 

Plumages. — The downy young seems to have two color phases — 
a dusky phase and a white phase. The only specimen that I have 
seen is sparingly covered with short, dirty white down, tinged with 
buffy, with signs of a few black feathers coming in on the center of 
the back, the wings, and the crown. Two of the specimens shown in 
Professor Watson's (1908) plate seem to be quite dusky. At an age 
of 18 days the young bird seems to be about half fledged, and at 30 
days practically fully feathered. This juvenal plumage much re- 
sembles that of the adult ; it is " bone brown " above and " fuscous " 
below; the feathers of the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts are 
tipped with " wood brown," which fades later to buffy white ; the 
pale gray cap is acquired and the throat is largely grayish white. 

Yarrell (1871) says: 

In birds which are not fully mature the black loral streaks are less de- 
fined; the gray of the forehead and throat is less pronounced, and the gen- 
eral tint is browner. Birds of the first year have very little white on the 
forehead; the mantle and wing coverts are of a lighter brown, the secondaries 
and tail feathers showing slight bars of umber-brown near the tips; under- 
parts pale brown. 

As to subsequent molts we have very little data, but there seems 
to be no conspicuous seasonal change, except on the crown. In 
winter this is nearly as brown as the back, with only a narrow white 
supraloral line. The material examined seems to indicate a com- 
plete postnuptial molt and probably a complete prenuptial molt. 

Food, — In regard to the feeding habits of these terns, Professor 
Watson (1908) says: 

In a locality where marine forms are so abundant as in this favored Gulf 
region, the terns collect their food with little difficulty. They feed upon small 
fish of different kinds, which are present in great abundance. Examination 
of the stomach contents of both young noddies and sooties showed the presence 
of representatives of the two families of fish Carangidae and Clupeidae. 

To my great surprise I found that the birds never swim nor dive. As a 
matter of fact, they never touch the water except when drinking or bathing. 
The bird drinks the seawater as it skims the surface of the water with open 
beak. Bathing they perform in much the same way, never coming to a stop 
in the water nor completely immersing the body ; usually the breast and head 
are the only parts dipped into the water. 

The birds fish by following schools of minnows which are being attacked 
by larger fish. The minnow, in its efforts to escape, jumps out of the water 
and skims the surface for a short distance. The terns pick off these minnows 
as they hop up above and over the surface of the water. The rapidity and 
accuracy of visual-motor adjustment in this reaction is wonderful. 

The birds feed singly or in groups; usually in groups. The group may be 
composed of both noddies and sooties and may contain sometimes as many as 



308 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



50 to 100 individuals. All during the day groups of noddies and sooties may 
be seen at work. As the minnows cease to jump above the surface of the 
water, the group disbands and scatters in every direction. An instant later, 
as an attack is made upon the minnows in some other locality, the birds 
immediately rush there and renew their feeding. 

He also discovered that most of their fishing is done within 9 or 
10 knots of the island, and that they seldom venture more than 15 
knots away from it. Mr. B. S. Bowdish (1902) found in the stomach 
of a noddy " an entire flying fish about 4 inches long and remains 
of others. 

Behavior. — Audubon (1840) writes of the flight of the noddy: 

The flight of this bird greatly resembles that of the nighthawk when pass- 
ing over meadows or rivers. When about to alight on the water the noddy 
keeps its wings extended upward and touches it first with its feet. It swims 
with considerable buoyancy and grace, and at times immerses its head to seize 
on a fish. It does not see well by night, and it is perhaps for this reason that 
it frequently alights on the spars of vessels, where it sleeps so soundly that the 
seamen often catch them. 

Dr. Frank M. Chapman (1908) gives a different impression of it. 
He says: 

As the only tern with a rounded, instead of forked tail, the noddy might be 
expected to differ in flight from other members of its family. In fact, it sug- 
gested, when in the air, a light-bodied, long-winged, long-tailed pigeon. They 
fly rapidly, never hovering with the sooties, and they were often seen pursuing 
each other high in the air in what were doubtless mating flights. 

Professor Watson's (1908) interesting experiments show that the 
noddy is a swift and powerful flier, with strong powers of orienta- 
tion. Birds which he transported and liberated at Key West, Cuba, 
and even Cape Hatteras returned directly and promptly to their 
breeding grounds in the Dry Tortugas. He says that in flying at 
night they " break their graceful flight into short, ungraceful, and 
ill-directed choppy swoops, very similar to the way the nighthawk 
breaks its flight when flying after dark." 

In spite of the statement of some other writers to the contrary, 
Professor Watson (1908) says that these "birds never swim nor 
dive * * *. During my three months' stay I never saw one of 
these birds in the water, except by accident, and then the bird, if 
the tide is against it, can never reach the shore, so poorly does it 
swim." 

Mr. Bowdish (1902) says that "the common note resembles the 
clamor of young crows, and is often heard, more or less, through- 
out the night." There has been so little published on this subject 
that I infer that the vocal performances of this species are not 
elaborate. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 809 

Of their behavior with relation to other species Professor Watson 
(1908) writes: 

From the writings of others I had drawn the conclusion that the frigate 
bird attacks the terns and forces them to disgorge, and that it feeds upon 
their young. I spent many weary hours in attempting to discover the relation 
of the frigate bird to the terns, especially its relation to the noddies. Since 
the noddies build their nests in the bushes where the frigate birds roost, it 
was presumed that there, if anywhere, the devouring tendency of the frigate 
bird ought to appear. I found that the cause of the disturbance between noddy 
and frigate bird lies chiefly in the fact that the latter, in attempting to find 
a bush in which to rest, sun, or roost, will oftentimes alight upon or very near 
to a noddy nest, whereupon the noddy most immediately concerned and those 
near by will attack the frigate bird, and at times even rout him. It is a com- 
mon occurrence especially late in the afternoon when the frigate birds are re- 
turning to see hundreds of such fights. The noddy is always careful to attack 
the frigate birds by sudden thrusts (usually made from below), dodging 
quickly to avoid their fearful and powerful beaks. 

Mr. Edward W. Gifford (1913) says: 

It was not uncommon to see a noddy sitting on the head of a brown pelican, 
while the latter was resting on the water swallowing fish. Once I saw two on a 
pelican's head at one time. Several often accompanied the young pelicans in 
their excursions along the coasts. 

Gathering the eggs of this and other sea birds for food has long 
since been stopped in the Dry Tortugas by including the islands on 
which they breed in a reservation and by protecting them; but the 
practice still continues in the West Indies, where the eggs are con- 
sidered a legitimate food supply and are gathered in large numbers. 

Fall. — According to Dr. Joseph Thompson, United States Navy, 
(1903) , " toward the end of September the birds begin to leave. They 
leave in great flocks and at night. The entire exodus consumes, 
apparently, but two or three days; and some morning the observer 
will find the island absolutely deserted, save for a few crippled birds 
that have been injured and are unable to follow their comrades." 
Just where they go or how they spend the winter months does not 
seem to be very well known. They are probably scattered widely 
along the tropical coast of South America and among the numerous 
islands inclosing the Caribbean Sea. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — The Atlantic form breeds from the Florida Keys 
(Dry Tortugas) and the Bahamas (Atwood's and Gaulding's Keys, 
Dry and Booby Rocks, Acklin, and Berry Islands, etc.), eastward 
and southward throughout the West Indies (Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, 
Porto Rico, Dominica, Carriacou, etc.), to Venezuela (Margarita 
Island). South in the Atlantic Ocean to St. Helena, Tristan da 
Cunha, and Ascension Islands. West to the coast of British Hon- 



310 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

duras (Glover's Reef and Cay Dolores). North, formerly and per- 
haps now, to southern Texas. Pacific birds are supposed to be sub- 
specifically distinct and have been split into several subspecies. 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reserva- 
tion: In Florida, Tortugas Keys. 

Winter range. — Practically the same as the breeding range. 

Casual records. — One record for Bermuda (September 12, 1884). 

Egg dates. — Bahama Islands : Forty-three records, May 5 to July 
1 ; twenty-two records, May 16 to June 2, West Indies and Florida : 
Ten records, February 17 to July 6 ; five records, May 20 to June 24. 

Family RYNCHOPIDAE, Skimmers. 

RYNCHOPS NIGRA Linnaeus. 

BLACK SKIMMER. 

HABITS. 

The coasts of Virginia and the Carolinas are fringed with chains 
of low, sandy islands, many of them lying far out from the shores, 
with broad, flat, sandy beaches on the ocean side, and often on the 
inner side with extensive salt marshes which are intersected by 
numerous creeks and shallow estuaries. Although practically worth- 
less for human occupancy, these islands form ideal resorts for sev- 
eral species of water birds and shore birds. Cobb's Island, undoubt- 
edly the most famous and perhaps the most typical of this class of 
islands, has for many years been a popular resort for sportsmen and 
bird lovers, though its bird population has been sadly depleted dur- 
ing recent years. The countless thousands of least terns, which 
once enlivened its sandy shores, have all disappeared into the ca- 
pacious maw of the millinery trade. The gull-billed terns have been 
nearly exterminated and the common terns much reduced in numbers 
by the same agency. Only a few nests of each are still to be found 
on the pebbly sand flats. The laughing gulls still breed in fair 
numbers on the salt marshes, but they are persistently robbed by egg- 
hunting fishermen, and the once populous breeding colonies of willets 
have been nearly annihilated by sportsmen, who shoot the local 
breeding birds as well as the migrants. Fortunately the black 
skimmers are not regarded as game birds and their plumage is not 
in demand for millinery purposes, so that they still frequent their 
favorite breeding grounds in large numbers. 

When the rising tide flows in around the island, covering the outer 
sand bars, driving the birds from their low-tide roosting and feed- 
ing places and flooding the shallow estuaries, then the " flood gulls," 
as they are called, may be seen skimming over the muddy shallows, 
about the mouths of the creeks, or up into the narrow inlets, grace- 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 75 



^"^ r *. 



X 



£?*>* i**' 



r^ t x 




Battledore Island Louisiana 




A. C. Bent. 




Battledore, Island Louisiana. 



A. C. Bent. 



Black Skimmer, 

For description see page 337 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 311 

fully gliding on their long, slender wings close to the surface in 
search of their finny prey, the tiny minnows, which have followed 
the advancing tide into the protecting, grassy shallows. It is a 
pleasure to sit and watch their graceful evolution in their untiring 
efforts to secure a meal, as they quarter back and forth over the same 
ground again and again, cutting the smooth surface of the water 
with their razor-like bills, scaling, wheeling, and turning like giant 
swallows, silently engrossed in their occupation for which they are so 
highly specialized. 

Spring. — The black skimmers arrive on their breeding grounds 
on Cobb's Island and in its vicinity late in April or early in May 
but they are late breeders. For several weeks they roam about in 
large flocks or roost on the sand bars in masses so dense that they 
blacken the ground, every bird facing the wind. When resting 
or sleeping in such situations they squat closely or sit upon the 
sand for hours, but if approached every bird rises to its feet and 
simultaneously all mount suddenly into the air, flying straight 
toward the intruder with a chorus of peculiar barking yelps : wheel- 
ing just in time they circle over his head, perform a series of aerial 
evolutions, now high in the air and again close to the water, until 
they finally settle again on the sand. Their mating performances 
show off their marvelous powers of flight to advantage and are 
most exciting as two or more males give chase to the coveted female. 

The coy one, shooting aslant to either side, dashes along with marvelous 
speed, flying hither and thither, upward, downward, in all directions. Her 
suitors strive to overtake her ; they emit their love cries with vehemence ; you 
are gladdened by their softly and tenderly enunciated ha, ha, or the hack, 
hack, cae, cae, of the last in the chase. Like the female, they all perform 
the most curious zigzags as they follow in close pursuit, and as each beau at 
length passes her in succession he extends his wings for an instant, and in a 
manner struts by her side. (Audubon, 1840.) 

Nesting. — In 1907 I spent the last week in June on Cobb's Island 
and other islands in its vicinity where I found several large colonies 
of black skimmers just beginning their breeding operations. On Pig 
Island, a low, flat, sandy island, entirely devoid of vegetation and 
barely above high-water mark during the spring tides, I found two 
large colonies. They had chosen for their breeding grounds the 
higher portions of the sand flats beyond the reach of high tides, where 
numerous oyster, clam, and scallop shells were scattered about, half 
buried in the sand, among which the eggs were not conspicuous. 
Large numbers of little hollows had been scraped out in the sand, but, 
even at that late date, June 24, laying had only just begun; two 
nests were seen with one egg each and one with two eggs. Many of 
the birds were already squatting on the empty hollows or were 
busy with their courtships. They were very solicitous, flying out 

174785—21 21 



312 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

to meet us or circling about in flocks, uttering their characteristic 
notes of protest. A few days later, June 28, we visited another 
large colony of black skimmers in a similar situation on Wreck 
Island. They had evidently begun laying at about the same time, 
for many of the nests contained two or three eggs and one nest 
held four. The nest hollows measured from 4 to 5 inches in 
diameter and from 1 to 2 inches in depth ; the nests were all entirely 
devoid of any attempt at lining. Several pairs of gull-billed terns 
and a few common terns were nesting in the midst of this colony. 

Black skimmers formerly bred commonly on low sandy islands on 
the coast of New Jersey, but the encroachments of civilization have 
driven them away to more secluded spots. They still breed abun- 
dantly at certain points on the coasts of the Carolinas. Messrs. B. S. 
Bowdish (1910) and P. B. Philipp in 1909 found about 200 nesting 
on Royal Shoals, North Carolina, with a number of common and 
least terns, where on June 24, they were just beginning to lay; and 
at Bull's Bay, South Carolina, they found about a thousand begin- 
ning to lay between June 10 and 15. Mr. Arthur T. Wayne (1910) 
writes as follows regarding their breeding habits in South Carolina : 

Twenty years age these curious birds used to breed regularly on Sullivans 
Island, and by May 15 full complements of eggs could be procured. At present, 
however, the breeding season is much later than formerly, and the birds, as a 
rule, have forsaken the coast islands (including Sullivans, Long, and Capers) 
and breed, or try to, mainly on the larger keys. As fast as the eggs are laid 
they are taken by any boatman who happens to discover them. The birds are 
thus forced to lay again and again in order to raise a brood, and hence the 
breeding season is a long one, being protracted through August. 

In the Breton Island and other reservations off the coast of 
Louisiana I found a number of interesting skimmer colonies in 1910, 
where they have flourished under the adequate protection afforded 
them. On Grand Cochere, the outermost island, a low, flat sand bar, 
about 300 pairs were breeding a little apart from the large colonies 
of royal and Cabot's terns, nesting in hollows in the sand, as usual. 
The largest colony, and the one most typical of the region, was found 
on Battledore Island, where I spent the whole of one day (June 21), 
and, as the birds were very tame under the constant protection of the 
resident warden, I was able to study them at close range from my 
blind. On this little island, not over 4 acres in extent, I estimated 
that fully 5,000 pairs of laughing gulls, 1,000 pairs of black skim- 
mers, 50 pairs of Louisiana herons, 30 pairs of Forster's terns, and 
25 pairs of common terns were breeding. A large number of skim- 
mers were nesting by themselves on an open beach of finely broken 
oyster shells which formed a long narrow point at one end of the 
island. They were also nesting at several places with the laughing 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 76 




Wreck Island, Virginia. 



A. C. Bent. 



HBK ' 




Battledore Island, Louisiana. 



Black Skimmer. 

For description see page 337 



A. C. Bent. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GUULS AND TERNS. 313 

gulls on the high ridges of broken oyster shells back of the beaches, 
which were more or less covered with scattered clumps of beach grass 
and small mangrove bushes. The gulls' nests were usually concealed 
among the vegetation, but the skimmers selected the more open spaces. 
The skimmers' nests were merely hollows scooped out in the loose 
shells, where the eggs were almost invisible. Nearly all the nests 
contained full sets of four or five eggs, but no young were seen; I 
saw only one young skimmer on the whole trip — a newly hatched 
chick, picked up on Hog Island, on June 22. The impression seems 
to have prevailed among the earlier writers that the black skimmers 
do not sit on their eggs in the daytime ; it is true that they may, under 
favorable circumstances, leave their eggs uncovered for considerable 
periods, but they certainly protect their eggs from the sun's rays 
on hot days and keep them warm in cold or wet weather. I believe 
that they incubate most of the time. On Breton Island they cer- 
tainly returned quickly to their eggs and sat upon them almost con- 
stantly within a few feet of my blind. The male usually stands 
besides his mate while she is incubating. 

Life in these closely populated colonies is never dull ; birds are con- 
stantly coming and going, skimming close over the heads of their 
sitting companions, causing frequent snappings of beaks or, if they 
come too near, grunts of protest or even little squabbles. When ap- 
proaching her nest the bird alights 3 or 4 feet away, looks around 
carefully, walks slowly to her nest with her head held high, and 
gradually settles down on the eggs, working them under her plumage 
with the aid of wings and feet. She is restless and uneasy, craning 
her neck and looking about at every new comer. She may leave and 
return to the nest several times before settling down to quiet incuba- 
tion. On this and other islands in the reservations the black skim- 
mers seemed to be living in perfect harmony with their neighbors, 
the laughing gulls, and were apparently never robbed by them. 

The following extract from some notes, sent to me by Mr. Stanley 
C. Arthur, is worth quoting, as illustrating the nervous restlessness 
of this species : 

One pair of skimmers immediately in front of my blind afforded me a great 
deal of amusement during the entire afternoon. The female was very much 
scared, it seemed to me, and watched the blind into which I had disappeared, 
although the rest of the colony paid no attention to the khaki-colored tent that 
had been erected on their home grounds. This particular skimmer can best be 
described as being " skerry," and her lord and master was very much exercised 
over her behavior. She would wing her way over the nesting grounds, then 
swoop down over her nest of eggs, and when just about to alight would give 
her long black wings a flap and soon be soaring again into the air. Her mate 
would watch her approach and departure with sundry twistings of the head, 
and at times I feared he would twist his neck off, as he endeavored to follow 
her flight as she would rapidly circle over the eggs. He would run over to the 



314 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

eggs with little mincing footsteps and indicate by example how she should 
come and sit on them. In this performance the male bird did not wholly cover 
the eggs with his breast feathers, as the incubating birds usually do, but rather 
squatted over them and followed the aerial revolutions of his mate with a 
constantly moving head. The wife made several stops as though intending to 
alight on her eggs, and finally did so, coming lightly to the ground and running 
up to the eggs and covering them properly with her breast feathers. There 
would be peace and quiet until some (to me) undiscovered alarm would send the 
whole colony into the air " baying like a pack of hounds." After several sweep- 
ing flights through the air the whole skimmer colony would settle back on the 
eggs and remain quiet, except for the thin yelps that went on all the time, 
whether there was anything untoward to excite them or not. 

Although the breeding season is often much prolonged by various 
disasters only one brood is raised in a season. The normal set con- 
sists of four or five eggs, though three often constitute a complete 
set, and sometimes as many as six or seven are laid. In the Breton 
Island reservation egg laying begins the very last of May or first 
of June; on the Virginia coast the laying season begins fully three 
weeks later ; the black skimmer is therefore one of the last of the sea 
birds to lay. The period of incubation seems to be unknown ; so far 
as I have been able to observe only the female incubates. 

Eggs. — A series of black skimmer's eggs makes a striking feature 
in a collection, showing many interesting variations of bold and 
picturesque color patterns. The ground color is rarely pure white, 
but usually pale bluish white or creamy white, varying on the one 
hand to pale greenish blue, almost a heron's egg color, and on the other 
hand to deep " cream buff " or " pinkish buff." They are usually 
heavily marked with various shades of brown, from " tawny olive " 
and "burnt umber" to "seal brown" or "clove brown"; some- 
times fairly evenly distributed as small spots, but more often in large 
irregular blotches or splashes in an endless variety of patterns. 
Nearly all of the eggs are more or less heavily spotted or blotched, 
and some are very prettily marked, with various shades of "lilac 
gray," " lavender gray," or " olive gray." In shape they vary from 
rounded ovate to elongate ovate, with a prevailing tendency toward 
the former shape. The measurements of 58 eggs in the United States 
National Museum average 45 by 33.5 millimeters; the eggs showing 
the four extremes measure 51 by 32, 45 by 36, 41.5 by 31, and 43 by 
30.5 millimeters. 

Young.— Mr. Arthur has sent me the following notes on the be- 
havior of young skimmers : 

While the colony under observation were still incubating their eggs I had 
an excellent opportunity to note' the young in all stages, from those almost 
ready to fly to the young just out of the shell, and I also had an opportunity 
of noting the way the young skimmers are fed. This is done in two ways : 
The downy young are fed by regurgitation, the food being dropped by the parent 
bird on the ground ; but so avid are the little ones for food that they pick at 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113 PL. 77 




Cobb Island, Virginia 









I 



J 



F. M. Chapman. 




Cobb Island, Virginia. 



Black Skimmer. 

For description see page 337. 



R. W. Shufeldt. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 315 

the parent bird's bill as the fish is being dropped, and then pick it up as a tiny 
chicken would pick up moistened bread. When the young birds commence to 
show their feathers they are fed whole fish by the parent bird. The fish is 
carried crosswise in the bill of the parent from where they are secured to the 
nesting grounds and is handed direct to the young bird. If by chance the 
parent bird drops the fish before its young can take it from the bill, the little 
one will pick it up from the ground by turning its head and bill sidewise. 
This is not a difficult accomplishment, as the difference in length between the 
upper and lower mandibles is very slight at this period. 

From their earliest stage the young skimmers have a habit of scratching 
themselves into a hollow and lying absolutely flat upon the shell-covered beach. 
While this habit is displayed mostly by the downy young, I have seen it ex- 
hibited to a great extent by the feathered young when the young birds are able 
to run about and danger threatens. Then they will throw themselves flat on 
the shells of the beach and scratch alternately with their little webbed feet 
backward. They make about 15 or 20 movements before they snuggle down 
to rest, and while their legs are in action they make the shells fly most ener- 
getically. When the hollow is dug sufficiently to allow them to lie flush with 
the surrounding beach they remain absolutely motionless, and as their colora- 
tion is such as to indicate that nature has provided a protective mimicry, yet 
they are not difficult to detect; and, as the accompanying photographs show, 
they stand away from their surroundings most vividly. The chirp of the 
young is no different from that of the other sea birds, such as the laughing 
gulls and the terns, and they show the same marked instinct of recognizing 
their parents' raucous cries from the other alarms. 

Plumages. — The young skimmer when first hatched is completely 
covered with soft, thick down, pale " vinaceous buff " above, lightly 
mottled with dusky on the back, and only faintly so mottled on the 
head, the under parts being pure white. As the youngster spends 
most of its time lying flat on the sand, its protective coloration con- 
ceals it admirably. It fades so invisibly into its surroundings that 
it is hard to realize that it is a living bird. During the downy stage 
it well knows the value of the hiding pose, and lies prostrate on the 
sand with head outstretched and eyes closed until touched, when 
it runs away with surprising agility. The razor-shaped bill is 
apparent even in the youngest chick, but the specialized bill of the 
adult is not fully developed until the flight stage is reached. The 
youngest birds are fed on semidigested food from the parent's throat, 
but after a few days they learn to run about, and are gradually 
taught to feed on more solid food, principally small fish. When the 
young birds have attained their growth and have acquired the 
juvenal plumage, before they learn to fly, they gather in flocks and 
learn to feed on what they can pick up along the water's edge. At 
this time the mandibles are of equal length. The long lower man- 
dible of the adult would be a serious handicap in feeding, and there- 
fore it is not developed until the bird has learned to skim the surface 
of the water for its food. 



316 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

The juvenal plumage is handsomely and boldly marked; the upper 
half of the head is "pale ochraceous salmon" colored and the 
feathers of the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts are broadly tipped 
and edged with the same color, each feather being centrally dusky. 
These edgings, which are fully a quarter of an inch broad on the 
scapulars, soon fade out to white and wear away, leaving a dingy 
mottled effect on the upper parts. During the winter some progress 
is made toward maturity, and at the first prenuptial molt, which is 
complete, young birds become practically indistinguishable from 
adults. Adults have two complete molts each year, a prenuptial 
in February and March and a postnuptial in August and September. 
The adult winter plumage is similar to the nuptial, but the upper 
parts are browner, and there is a more or less distinct nuchal collar 
of whitish feathers. 

Food. — The food of the black skimmer consists mainly of small 
fish, and to some extent shrimps and other small crustaceans. It feeds 
largely on the wing by skimming close to the smooth water, cutting 
with its long, rigid lower mandible the surface, from which it scoops 
into the small mouth the animal food to be found there. The upper 
mandible, which is movable, can plainly be seen to close down upon 
any morsel of food which is picked up. That it feeds largely at night 
everyone knows who has lain at anchor among the shoals of the 
South Atlantic coast and seen the shadowy forms flitting by in the 
gloom, but it does not do so exclusively, as has been stated. I have 
frequently seen it feeding in broad daylight, and think that it is 
more influenced by the tides than by anything else, for these at 
certain stages make its food more accessible. It is never seen to dive 
for its food, and its bill is not adapted for picking it up on the shore. 

Mr. Arthur seems to have discovered another method of feeding, 
about which he writes me : 

According to my observations the birds seek shallow water of not over 3 
inches depth and pick up minnows and other small fish by a direct forward 
movement of the head and bill, in no way differing from a chick picking up a 
worm on dry land. Skimmers I have had in captivity, where fish was thrown 
to them on a hard surface, were compelled to turn their heads sideways to 
pick up the fish ; but the skimmers I had under observation were working on a 
soft mud bottom, and I did not observe a single instance of the head being turned 
sideways to pick up the food. It was very noticeable at this time that while 
some of the birds were fishing in the shallow water other skimmers would 
come skimming over the water in the characteristic manner, but when they 
came to a stop they, too, began wading around and fishing in the manner I have 
just described. 

Stomachs collected and sent to the United States Bureau of Biological Survey 
for identification of contents very unfortunately proved to be empty, and I 
have no positive data from this source as to what constituted the skimmer's 
food at this time of the year, but on July 5, while on Alexander Island, there 
occurred an unusual incident, in which a fish, a Forster tern, and a birdologist 
all figured. Making my way along a stretch of sandy beach I noted a skimmer 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GTJIJLS AND TERNS. 317 

flying toward the island holding crosswise in its bill a small fish. The reflec- 
tions of the bright sun rays from the scales of the fish first attracted my atten- 
tion. I was next attracted by a series of muffled " yap-yap-yap's," intermingled 
with several " tear-tear-tear-tear-r-r-r-r-f 's " of a very active Forster tern that 
was pursuing the skimmer and intent upon forcing the big black bird to drop 
its lawfully acquired prey. The Forster's efforts were without any great suc- 
cess, however, until the two birds performed the aerial fracas just above 
my head and about 100 feet in the air. At this juncture the tern succeeded in 
scaring the skimmer by a very quick and vigorous dart aimed at the back of the 
black bird's head, which caused it to drop the fish, which fell in the mud at the 
edge of a shallow pond about 75 feet from where I was standing. Recognizing 
an opportunity to secure positive evidence of the food of the skimmer, I dropped 
the camera I was carrying and it was " nip and tuck " between the tern 
and me who would get the fish. I got the fish, but I have never before received 
such a scolding from a bird. The Forster tern seemed absolutely beside itself 
with rage, and followed me for over a mile along the beach, where the captain 
of our patrol boat was waiting for me with a small motor boat. It was not 
until we had put off from the island and headed in the direction of our large 
boat that the tern decided that there was no way of bullying me into return- 
ing the fish that he felt he had earned by right of combat. I identified the 
fish, which was about 2£ inches long, as a squeteague, or so-called sea trout, and 
evidently Cynoscion nothus, the so-called " bastard " weak fish ; and this infor- 
mation was afterwards concurred in by the United States Bureau of Fisheries. 

Behavior. — In flight the black skimmer is one of the most grace- 
ful of sea birds and the most highly specialized. Its slender build, 
its long, powerful wings and its broad forked tail are perfectly- 
adapted to its modes of life. The strongest winds offer but little 
resistance to the little ball of feathers, supported by two long, slender 
blades which cut the air like the keenest razor. It has a strong 
combination of buoyancy and strength ; it is swift and skillful on the 
wing, and always holds itself in perfect control. When flying in a 
flock, as is customary, its movements are synchronous to a high de- 
gree of perfection, the whole flock twisting, turning, wheeling, ris- 
ing, or falling in perfect unison. 

Of its voice not much can be said in the way of praise, for it is 
harsh and grating and far from pleasing. When flying out to meet 
the intruder on its breeding grounds it indulges in a chorus of pe- 
culiar nasal barking notes or grunting sounds, like the syllables, 
" Kak, kak, kak," or " Kuk, kuk, kuk," in a low, guttural tone. It 
also has a variety of soft love notes, sounding like " Kow, kow," or 
" Keow, keow," suggestive of certain gull notes. 

Winter. — Although gregarious at all seasons the black skimmers 
are especially so in the fall and winter, when they gather in large 
flocks, flying in close formation, or roosting in dense masses on the 
sand bars or beaches. It is only when they are feeding that they 
are scattered out over the shoals. As soon as the young are able to 
fly in September the fall migration begins, and they retire from the 
northern portions of their range to spend the winter about the nu- 



318 BULLETIN 113, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 

merous shallow bays, estuaries, and creeks on the coasts of Florida 
and the Gulf States. They are never seen far out at sea and are 
seldom driven inland. 

DISTRIBUTION. 

Breeding range. — On the Atlantic coast from Virginia (Northamp- 
ton County) to northeastern Florida (Nassau and Dowal Counties). 
On the Gulf coast from the Florida Keys to Louisiana and southern 
Texas (Cameron County). Formerly north to New Jersey and still 
earlier to Massachusetts. Present in summer and probably breeding 
on the coasts of Venezuela (Margarita) and Yucatan (Progreso). 

Breeding grounds protected in the following national reservations : 
In Alabama, Petit Bois Island; in Louisiana, Breton Island and 
Tern Islands. 

Winter range. — From northern Florida (mouth of St. Johns 
River) and from the coast of Louisiana southward, all around the 
Gulf of Mexico, and along the northern and eastern coasts of South 
America. 

Spring migration. — Arrives in South Carolina about the middle 
of April and in Virginia about the last of April, or first week of 
May. 

Fall migration. — Leaves Virginia about September 10 and South 
Carolina by November 15 at the latest. 

Casual records. — Has wandered as far north and east as the Bay 
of Fundy (Grand Manan, August, 1879). Accidental inland: New 
York (Whitesboro, October, 1893) ; South Carolina (Chester, Sep- 
tember 10, 1882) ; and Tennessee (Obion County). One record for 
Bermuda (October, 1876). 

Egg dates. — Virginia : Thirty-two records, June 2 to July 20 ; six- 
teen records, June 18 to 26. South Carolina : Twenty records, May 
15 to July 16; ten records, June 23 to July 4. Texas: Twenty 
records, May 10 to July 4 ; ten records, June 1 to 15. 



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1891— History of the Birds of Kansas. 
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1847 — The Birds of Jamaica. 



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326 REFERENCES TO BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

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REFERENCES TO BIBLIOGRAPHY. 327 

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174785—21 22 



328 REFERENCES TO BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

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1890 — Report on the Birds of Pennsylvania. 
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larged by Alfred Newton and Howard Saunders. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 

halftone plates. 

Plate 1. 

Group of laughing gulls on beach, Battledore Island, Louisiana, June, 1905, 
a photograph presented by Mr. Herbert K. Job. (Frontispiece.) 

Plate 2. 

Left: Nest and eggs of skua, Kaldafarnes, Iceland, a photograph presented 
by Mr. J. Wilkinson. 

Right: Pomarine jaeger, Chatham, Massachusetts, August 31, 1904, a photo- 
graph presented by Mr. Herbert K. Job. 

Plate 3. 

Upper : Nest and egg of parasitic jaeger, Kolyma Delta, Siberia, June 27, 1917, 
from a negative taken by Mr. Johan Koren for the author. 

Lower: Nest and eggs of parasitic jaeger, Point Barrow, Alaska, June 25, 
1917, from a negative taken by Mr. T. L. Richardson for the author. 

Plate 4. 

Upper : Nest and eggs of long-tailed jaeger, St. Michael, Alaska, June 19, 1915, 

from a negative taken by Mr. F. S. Hersey for the author. 
Lower : A nearer view of the same nest, referred to on page 22. 

Plate 5. 

Upper: Nest and eggs of long-tailed jaeger, Kolyma Delta, Siberia, June 22, 
1917, from a negative taken by Mr. Johan Koren for the author. 

Lower : Long-tailed jaeger on its nest, northeast Greenland, published by 
courtesy of Mr. A. L. V. Manniche, Meddelelser om Gr0nland. 

Plate 6. 

Upper : Nesting site of ivory gull, northeast Greenland, July 18, 1908. 
Lower: Nest in above locality. Both published by courtesy of Mr. A. L. V. 
Manniche, Meddelelser om Gr0nland. 

Plate 7. 

Left: Kittiwake on its nest, Bird Rock, Quebec, June 25, 1904, a photograph 

presented by Mr. Herbert K. Job. 
Right : Kittiwakes on their nests, Bird Rock, Quebec, June 24, 1904, referred to 

on page 38. 

329 



330 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 

Plate 8. 

Upper: Nests and eggs of kittiwakes, Bird Rock, Quebec, June 25, 1904, re- 
ferred to on page 38. 

Lower: Young kittiwakes, just prior to the flight stage, Bird Rock, Quebec, 
July 24, 1915, referred to on page 39. 

Plate 9. 

Upper: Pacific kittiwakes on their nests, Walrus Island, Alaska, July 7, 1911. 
Lower: Nest and eggs of same in the above locality. Both referred to on 
page 46. 

Plate 10. 

Nesting colony of red-legged kittiwakes. Saint George Island, Alaska, a pho- 
tograph presented by Dr. Charles H. Townsend. 

Plate 11. 

Upper : Nest and eggs of glaucous gull, Borup Glenn, Greenland. 

Lower: Nearer view of another nest, Sutherland Island, Greenland. Both 

photographs presented by Mr. Donald B. MacMillan and published by courtesy 

of the American Museum of Natural History. 

Plate 12. 

Upper : Nest and young of glaucous gull, Sulwuddy, Greenland. 

Lower: Young glaucous gulls. Cape Kendrick, Greenland. Both photographs 

presented by Mr. Donald B. MacMillan and published by courtesy of the 

American Museum of Natural History. 

Plate 13. 

Upper: Nesting colony of glaucous-winged gulls, Walrus Island, Alaska, July 

7, 1911, referred to on page 68. 
Lower: Nest and eggs of same, Bogoslof Island, Alaska, July 4, 1911, referred 

to on page 67. 

Plate 14. 

Upper: Nesting resort of glaucous- winged gulls, Flattery Rocks, Reservation, 

Washington. 
Lower: Nest and eggs of same, Carroll Islet, Washington. Both photographs 

presented by Mr. W. L. Dawson. 

Plate 15. 

Upper: Distant view of nest of great black-backed gull, south coast of Labra- 
dor, May 25, 1909. 
Lower : Nearer view of same nest, referred to on page 77. 

Plate 16. 

Upper: Great black-backed gull, trumpeting, Lake George, Nova Scotia, July 

28, 1912, referred to on page 84. 
Lower: Adult and young bird, one year old, same locality and date. Both 

photographs presented by Mr. H. H. Cleaves. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 331 

Plate 17. 

Upper : Western gulls in breeding colony, Farallon Islands, August 10, 1919, a 

photograph presented by Mr. Oluf J. Heinemann. 
Lower: Breeding colony of same, Humboldt County, California, a photograph 

presented by Mr. W. L. Dawson. 

Plate 18. 

Upper: Nest and young of western gull, Farallon Islands, July 3, 1914, a 

photograph presented by Mr. Oluf J. Heinemann. 
Lower: Nest and eggs of same, Los Coronados Islands, Lower California, a 

photograph presented by Mr. Donald R. Dickey. 

Plate 19. 

Upper : Nesting site of herring gulls, Heron Island, Maine, July 11, 1915. 
Lower: Herring gulls in breeding colony, Little Spoon Island, Maine, July 12, 
1915. 

Plate 20. 

Upper : Nest and eggs of herring gull, Seal Island, Nova Scotia, July 4, 1904. 
Lower : Another nest of same, Heron Island, Maine, July 11, 1915. 

Plate 21. 

Upper : Nest and young of herring gull, Heron Island, Maine, July 11, 1915. 
Lower : Young herring gull, half fledged, Matinicus Rock, Maine, July, 1906 ; a 
photograph presented by Mr. Herbert K. Job. 

Plate 22. 

Upper : Nest and eggs of Vega gull, Kolyma Delta, Siberia, July, 1916. 
Lower : Another nest in same locality, July 6, 1917. Both from negatives taken 
by Mr. Johan Koren for the author. 

Plate 23. 

Upper : Nesting colony of California and ring-billed gulls, Big Stick Lake, Sas- 
katchewan, June 14, 1906, referred to on page 125. 
Lower : Nests of California gulls, in shallow water, in same colony. 

Plate 24. 

Upper : Nest and eggs of California gull, Big Stick Lake, Saskatchewan, June 

14, 1906, referred to on page 126. 
Lower : Nest and young of same in same colony. 

Plate 25. 

Upper : Nesting colony of ring-billed and California gulls, Big Stick Lake, Sas- 
katchewan, June 14, 1906, referred to on page 133. 
Lower : Nests and eggs of ring-billed gull in same colony. 



332 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 

Plate 26. 

Upper: Nest and eggs of ring-billed gull, Prince William Sound, Alaska, June, 
1912, a photograph presented by Mr. George G. Cantwell, referred to on 
page 135. 

Lower : Nest and young of same, Big Stick Lake, Saskatchewan, June 14, 1906. 

Plate 27. 

Upper: Nesting site of short-billed gull, Lake Athabaska, Saskatchewan, June 

27, 1914. 
Lower: Nest and egg in above locality. Both photographs presented by Mr. 

Francis Harper and published by courtesy of the Geological Survey of 

Canada. 

Plate 28. 

Upper: Nesting site of short-billed gull, St. Michael, Alaska, June 19, 1915, 

referred to on page 141. 
Lower: Nest, egg, and young of same in above locality. Both photographs 

taken by Mr. F. S. Hersey for the author. 

Plate 29. 

Upper: Nesting colony of Heermann's gulls, Ildefonso Island, Lower Cali- 
fornia, March 23, 1909, referred to on page 148. 

Lower: Another view in same colony April 8, 1909. Both from photographs 
taken by Mr. W. W. Brown for Col. John E. Thayer ; published by courtesy of 
The Condor. 

Plate 30. 

Upper: Nest and eggs of laughing gull, Muskeget Island, Massachusetts, June 

22, 1902, referred to on page 155. 
Lower : Nest and young of same in above locality, July 4, 1904. 

Plate 31. 

Upper: Young laughing gull, hiding in grass, Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. 

August 3, 1916, referred to on page 158. 
Lower : Young laughing gull, just prior to flight stage, same locality, August 4, 

1916 ; a photograph presented by Dr. Alfred O. Gross. 

Plate 32. 

Upper : Pair of laughing gulls at the nest, Louisiana, June, 1908 ; a photograph 

presented by Mr. Herbert K. Job. 
Lower: Laughing gull on its nest, Louisiana; a photograph presented by Mr. 

Alfred M. Bailey. 

Plate 33. 

Upper: Nesting colony of Franklin's gulls, Lake of the Narrrows, Saskatche- 
wan, June 9, 1905, a photograph presented by Mr. Herbert K. Job. 
Lower : Gull alighting on nest in above colony, referred to on page 164. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 333 

Plate 34. 

Upper : Nest and eggs of Franklin's gull, Lake of the Narrrows, Saskatchewan, 

June 9, 1905. 
Lower : Nest and young of same, in above locality, referred to on page 165. 

Plate 35. 

Upper : Pair of Franklin's gulls on their nest, North Dakota. 

Lower: Group of Franklin's gulls in nesting colony, Lake of the Narrrows, 

Saskatchewan, June 9, 1905. Both photographs presented by Mr. Herbert 

K. Job. 

Plate 36. 

Upper: Nesting site of Sabine's gull, Saint Michael, Alaska, June 5, 1915, re- 
ferred to on page 192. 

Lower: Nest and eggs of same in above locality. Both from negatives taken 
by Mr. F. S. Hersey for the author. 

Plate 37. 

Upper : Nest and eggs of Sabine's gull, Saint Michael, Alaska, June 5, 1915, re- 
ferred to on page 192. 

Lower : Young Sabine's gull, Saint Michael, Alaska, June 19, 1915. Both from 
negatives taken by Mr. F. S. Hersey for the author. 

Plate 38. 

Upper: Nesting site of gull-billed tern, Cobb Island, Virginia, June 26, 1907, 

referred to on page 198. 
Lower : Nest and eggs of same in above locality. 

Plate 39. 

Upper: Gull-billed tern in its nest, Cobb Island, Virginia, July, 1902, from a 
photograph taken by Dr. Frank M. Chapman, published by his permission and 
by courtesy of D. Appleton & Co., publishers of " Camps and Cruises." 

Lower: Young gull-billed tern, Cobb Island, Virginia, a photograph pre- 
sented by Mr. Herbert K. Job. 

Plate 40. 

Upper: Nests and eggs of Caspian tern, Grand Cochere, Louisiana, June 19, 

1910, referred to on page 204. 
Lower : One of above nests. 

Plate 41. 

Caspian tern on its nest, Alexander Island, Louisiana, July 3, 1918, a photo- 
graph presented by Mr. Stanley C. Arthur. 

Plate 42. 

Upper: Nesting colony of Caspian terns, Lower Klamath Lake, Oregon, re- 
ferred to on page 205. 

Lower : Old and young birds in above colony. Both photographs presented by 
Mr. William L. Finley. 



334 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 

Plate 43. 

Upper: Flock of royal terns, Grand Cochere, Louisiana, June 19, 1910. 
Lower: Eggs in above colony, referred to on page 213. 

Plate 44. 

Upper : Nesting colony of royal terns, Grand Cochere, Louisiana, June 19, 1910, 

referred to on page 214. 
Lower: Pair of royal terns and young, Louisiana, a photograph presented by 

Mr. Alfred M. Bailey. 

Plate 45. 

Upper : Flock of young royal terns, Louisiana, July 5, 1918. 
Lower: Young royal terns, Louisiana, June 15, 1918. Both photographs pre- 
sented by Mr. Stanley C. Arthur. 

Plate 46. 

Upper: Nesting colony of Cabot's terns, Grand Cochere, Louisiana, June 19, 

1910, referred to on page 222. 
Lower : Eggs of Cabot's tern in same locality. 

Plate 47. 

Nesting colony of Cabot's terns, with a few royal terns, Louisiana; a photo- 
graph presented by Mr. Alfred M. Bailey. 

Plate 48. 

Upper: Nesting colony of Cabot's terns, with one royal tern, Southwest Key, 
Louisiana, June, 1908 ; a photograph presented by Mr. Herbert K. Job. 

Lower: Young Cabot's tern, Louisiana, June 16, 1918, a photograph presented 
by Mr. Stanley C. Arthur. 

Plate 49. 

Upper : Nests of Forster's terns, Wreck Island, Virginia, June 28, 1907, referred 

to on page 230. 
Lower : One of above nests. 

Plate 50. 

Upper : Nests of Forster's terns, Barr Lake, Colorado, May 24, 1907. 
Lower: Young Forster's terns in above colony. Both photographs presented 
by Mr. Robert B. Rockwell. Referred to on page 231. 

Plate 51. 

Upper: Nest and eggs of Forster's tern, Barr Lake, Colorado, a photograph 
presented by the Colorado Museum of Natural History. 

Lower: Forster's tern on its nest, Malheur Lake, Oregon, a photograph pre- 
sented by Mr. W. L. Finley. 

Plate 52. 

Upper: Nest and eggs of common tern, Penobscot Bay, Maine, June 12, 1900, 

referred to on page 240. 
Lower : Another nest of same, Muskeget Island, Massachusetts, June 22, 1902, 

referred to on page 239. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 335 

Plate 53. 

Upper: Young common terns, recently hatched, Chatham, Massachusetts, June 

29, 1916. 
Lower: Older young of same, Muskeget Island, Massachusetts, July 4, 1903. 

Plate 54. 

Upper : Common tern on its nest, Chatham, Massachusetts, June 13, 1919. 
Lower : Nesting colony of same in above locality, same date. 

Plate 55. 

Upper: Nest and eggs of arctic tern, Chatham, Massachusetts, June 29, 1916. 
Lower: Another nest of same, Yukon Delta, Alaska, June 19, 1914, from nega- 
tive taken by Mr. F. S. Hersey for the author. 

Plate 56. 

Upper: Arctic tern at its nest, Matinicus Rock, Maine, July, 1906. 
Lower: Another nest of same in above locality. Both photographs presented 
by Mr. Herbert K. Job. 

Plate 57. 

Upper: Young arctic terns, recently hatched, Chatham, Massachusetts, June 
29, 1916. 

Lower: Two older young of same Matinicus Rock, Maine, July, 1906, a photo- 
graph presented by Mr. Herbert K. Job. 

Plate 58. 

Upper: Nests and eggs of roseate tern, Muskeget Island, Massachusetts, June 

22, 1902. 
Lower: Another nest of same in above locality, referred to on page 257. 

Plate 59. 

Upper: Nesting colony of roseate terns, Muskeget Island, Massachusetts, June 

10, 1919, referred to on page 257. 
Lower : Roseate tern on its nest, above locality and date. 

Plate 60. 

Upper : Roseate tern and young, Weepecket Island, Massachusetts, July 1, 1919. 
Lower: Roseate tern, same locality and date. 

Plate 61. 

Upper : Young roseate tern, about 5 days old, Dry Tortugas, Florida. 
Lower : Young roseate tern, about 8 weeks old, same locality. Both from pho- 
. tographs taken by Dr. Paul Bartsch. 

Plate 62. 

Upper: Nest and eggs of Aleutian tern, Saint Michael, Alaska, June 23, 1915, 

referred to on page 266. 
Lower: Nearer view of same nest. Both from negatives taken by Mr, F. S. 

Hersey for the author. 



336 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 

Plate 63. 

Upper : Nesting site of least terns, Dartmouth, Massachusetts, June 14, 1919. 
Lower : Nest and eggs of same, in above locality, June 16, 1916. 

Plate 64. 

Upper : Nest and eggs of least tern, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, 

a photograph presented by Mr. Wright M. Pierce. 
Lower: Least terns and young, Louisiana, a photograph presented by Mr. 

Alfred M. Bailey. 

Plate 65. 

Upper: Young least tern, half grown. 

Lower: Young least tern, recently hatched. Both photographs presented by 
Mr. Edward H. Forbush. 

Plate 66. 

Upper : Nesting colony of sooty terns, Bird Key, Dry Tortugas, Florida. 
Lower : Bird on its nest in above locality. Both photographs presented by Mr. 
Herbert K. Job. 

Plate 67. 

Upper : Nest and two eggs of sooty tern, Bird Key, Dry Tortugas, Florida. 
Lower: Ordinary nest of same in above locality. Both photographs presented 
by Mr. Herbert K. Job. 

Plate 68. 

Upper : Young sooty tern, 8 days old, Dry Tortugas, Florida. 

Lower: An older bird, 25 days old. Both from photographs taken by Prof. 
John B. Watson, published by his permission and by courtesy of Bird- 
Lore. 

Plate 69. 

Upper : Nesting site of black terns, Steele County, North Dakota, June 9, 1901, 

referred to on page 291. 
Lower : Nest and eggs of same in above locality. 

Plate 70. 

Upper : Nesting site of black tern, Barr Lake, Colorado. 

Lower: Nest and eggs of same in above locality. Both photographs presented 
by Mr. Robert B. Rockwell. 

Plate 71. 
Upper: Black tern at its nest, Minneapolis, Minnesota, June, 1918. 
Lower : Another bird and nest. Both photographs taken by Mr. Jenness Rich- 
ardson and presented by the University of Minnesota. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 337 

Plate 72. 

Nesting colony of noddies, Bird Key, Dry Tortugas, Florida, a photograph 
presented by Mr. Herbert K. Job. 

Plate 73. 

Upper : Nest and egg of noddy, Bird Key, Dry Tortugas, Florida. 
Lower: Pair of noddies at their nest in same locality. Both photographs 
presented by Mr. Herbert K. Job. 

Plate 74. 

Upper : Young noddy in its nest, Dry Tortugas, Florida. 

Lower: An older bird in same locality. Both from photographs taken by Dr. 
Joseph Thompson and published by courtesy of Bird-Lore. 

Plate 75. 

Upper: Black skimmers flying over their nesting colony, Battledore Island, 

Louisiana, June 21, 1910, referred to on page 312. 
Lower: View in above colony. 

Plate 76. 

Upper: Nest and eggs of black skimmer on sandy beach, Wreck Island, Vir- 
ginia, June 28, 1907, referred to on page 312. 

Lower: Nest and eggs of same on shell beach, Battledore Island, Louisiana, 
June 21, 1910, referred to on page 312. 

Plate 77. 

Upper : Young black skimmer, recently hatched, Cobb Island, Virginia, from a 
photograph taken by Dr. Frank M. Chapman, published with his permission 
and by courtesy of D. Appleton & Co., publishers of " Camps and Cruises." 

Lower : Young black skimmer in juvenal plumage, September 19, 1895, a photo- 
graph, slightly retouched on top of head and back, presented by Dr. R. W. 
Shufeldt. 

COLORED PLATES. 

The eggs illustrated in the colored plates were selected from the collection of 
the United States National Museum, except where otherwise indicated. After 
the Museum catalogue number of each specimen is given the locality, the date, 
and the name of the collector as far as known. 

Plate 78. 

1. Pomarine jaeger, 18458, Greenland, Governor Fencker. 

2. Pomarine jaeger,- 18459, Greenland, Governor Fencker. 

3. Skua, 24541, Shetland Islands, June 2S, 1884, A. Hopeland. 

4. Parasitic jaeger, 24542, Monsay coast of Shetland Islands, June 2, 1881, R. 

Turnbull. 

5. Parasitic jaeger, 22155, Kodiak Island, Alaska, June 19, 1884, W. J. Fisher. 



338 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 

Plate 79. 

1. Long-tailed jaeger, 21434, Saint Michael, Alaska, June 16, 1880, E. W. Nelson. 

2. Long-tailed jaeger, 11688, Arctic coast, east of Anderson River, R. McFarlane. 

3. Ivory gull, 23598, Storoen, Spitzbergen, August 8, 1887, M. Foslic. 

4. Glaucous-winged gull, 19061, Kodiak Island, Alaska, July, 1883, W. J. Fisher. 

5. Glaucous-winged gull, 19061, Kodiak Island, Alaska, July, 1883, W. J. Fisher. 

Plate 80. 

1. Kittiwake, 21512, Greenland, Governor Fencker. 

2. Kittiwake, 23257, Bird Rock, Quebec, July 9, 1887, W. Palmer. 

3. Pacific Kittiwake, 16739, Saint George Island, Alaska, June 24, 1873, H. W. 

Elliott. 

4. Pacific Kittiwake, 16739, Saint George Island, Alaska, June 24, 1873, H. W. 

Elliott. 

5. Red-legged Kittiwake, 16735, Saint George Island, Alaska, June 25, 1873, 

H. W, Elliott. 

6. Red-legged Kittiwake, 16737, Saint George Island, Alaska, 1873, H. W. 

Elliott. 

Plate 81. 

1. Glaucous gull, 18713, Afognak Island, Alaska, July 12, 1882, W. J. Fisher. 

2. Glaucous gull, 21451, Yukon Delta, Alaska, June 4, 1879, E. W. Nelson. 

3. Iceland gull, 18446, Christianshaab, Greenland, Governor Fencker. 

4. Iceland gull, 18447, Christianshaab, Greenland, 1880, Governor Fencker. 

Plate 82. 

1. Great black-backed gull, 18450, Christianshaab, Greenland, Governor Fencker. 

2. Great black-backed gull, 24426, Southeast Labrador, June 6, 1884, M. A. 

Frazar. 

3. Western gull, 26442, Tomales Point, California, May 24, 1885, A. M. Ingersoll. 

4. Western gull, 26443, Tomales Point, California, May 24, 1885, A. M. Ingersoll. 

Plate 83. 

1. Herring gull, 27573, Islin, Midkiff Lake, Hamilton County, New York, May 

13, 1894, C. Haskell. 

2. Herring gull, 27577, Islin, Midkiff Lake, Hamilton County, New York, May 

13, 1894, C. Haskell. 

3. Vega gull, A. C. Bent collection, Kolyma River, Siberia, July 10, 1916, J. 

Koren. 

4. Vega gull, A. C. Bent collection, Kolyma River, Siberia, July 6, 1917, J. 

Koren. 

Plate 84. 

1. Ring-billed gull, 3598, Fort George, Hudson Bay, C. Drexler. 

2. Ring-billed gull, 6074, Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, Donald Gunn. 

3. California gull, 13721, Pyramid Lake, Nevada, May 16, 1868, R. Ridgway. 

4. California gull, 13700, Pyramid Lake, Nevada, May 16, 1868, R. Ridgway. 

5. California gull, 24676, Pyramid Lake, Nevada, June 4, 1891. 

Plate 85. 

1. Short-billed gull, 19064, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 1883, W. J. Fisher. 

2. Short-billed gull, 29218, Prince William Sound, Alaska, June 26, 1899, A. K. 

Fisher. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 339 

3. Mew gull, 24544, Murray Islands, Fleet Bay, Scotland, May 6, 1885, R. 

Sevell. 

4. Heermann's gull, 32004, Ildefonso Island, Lower California, April 8, 1909, 

W. W. Brown, jr. 

5. Heermann's gull, 31965, Ildefonso Island, Lower California, April 8, 1909, 

W. W. Brown, jr. 

Plate 86. 

1. Laughing gull, 23332, Cobb Island, Virginia, July 16, 1884, H. M. Smith. 

2. Laughing gull, 23331, Cobb Island, Virginia, July 16, 1884, H. M. Smith. 

3. Laughing gull, 18139, Rapeza Marsh, Virginia, R. Ridgway. 

4. Franklin's gull, 14212, Red River Settlements, 1865, D. Gunn. 

5. Franklin's gull, 12735, Lake Manitoba, Manitoba, D. Gunn. 

6. Franklin's gull, 24431, Jackson County, Minnesota, May 18, 1890, O. L. 

Bullis. 

Plate 87. 

1. Bonaparte's gull, 15745, Fort Anderson, Mackenzie, 1866, R. McFarlane. 
Z. Bonaparte's gull, 15744, Fort Anderson, Mackenzie, 1866, R. McFarlane. 

3. Bonaparte's gull, 11484, Fort Anderson, Mackenzie, 1866, R. McFarlane. 

4. Little gull, 15572, North Ladoga, Russia, June 1, 1869, H. E. Dresser. 

5. Ross's gull, 31096, Kolyma Delta, Siberia, June 13, 1905, S. Buturlin. 

6. Sabine's gull, 21401, Saint Michael, Alaska, 1877, E. W . Nelson. 

7. Sabine's gull, 11529, Franklin Bay, Mackenzie, 1865, R. McFarlane. 

8. Sabine's gull, 21408, Saint Michael, Alaska, 1877, E. W. Nelson. 

Plate 88. 

1. Caspian tern, 22556, Corpus Christi, Texas, June 15, 1883, B. F. Goss. 

2. Caspian tern, 22560, Corpus Christi, Texas, May 6, 18S3, B. F. Goss. 

3. Royal tern, 26303, San Antonio Bay, Texas, May 12, 1892, H. P. Attwater. 

4. Royal tern, 26303, San Antonio Bay, Texas, May 12, 1892, H. P. Attwater. 

5. Royal tern, 21589, Clearwater, Florida, S. T. Walker. 

Plate 89. 

1. Elegant tern, J. E. Thayer collection, Cerralvo Island, Lower California, April 

10, 1910, W. W. Brown, jr. 

2. Elegant tern, J. E. Thayer collection, Cerralvo Island, Lower California, 

April 10, 1910, W. W. Brown, jr. 

3. Elegant tern, J. E. Thayer collection, Cerralvo Island, Lower California, 

April 10, 1910, W. W. Brown, jr. 

4. Cabot's tern, 26317, San Antonio Bay, Texas, May 12, 1892, H. P. Attwater. 

5. Cabot's tern, 25359, Hog Island, Bahamas, May 16, 1892, D. P. Ingraham. 

6. Cabot's tern, 25359, Hog Island, Bahamas, May 16, 1892, D. P. Ingraham. 

7. Cabot's tern, 25359, Hog Island, Bahamas, May 16, 1892, D. P. Ingraham. 

Plate 90. 

1. Gull-billed tern, 21522, Cobb Island, Virginia, May 30, 1871, Rev. C. M. Jones. 

2. Gull-billed tern, 21539, Texas. Dr. J. C. Merrill. 

3. Forster's tern, 181 24 v Rapeza Marsh, Virginia, July, 1880, R. Ridgway. 

4. Forster's tern, 21543, Minneapolis, Minn., 1876, E. Dickinson. 

5. Common tern, A. C. Bent collection, Lake Winnepegosis, Manitoba, June 19, 

1913, A. C. Bent. 

6. Common tern, A. C. Bent collection, Chatham, Mass., June 29, 1916, A. C. 

Bent. 



340 EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 

7. Common tern, A. O. Bent collection, Jericho Bay, Maine, June 17, 1899, A. O. 

Bent. 

8. Common tern, A. C. Bent collection, Chatham, Mass., May 26, 1916, A, C. 

Bent. 

Plate 91. 

1. Arctic tern, 7831, Anderson River, MacKenzie, June 23, 1865, R. McFarlane. 

2. Arctic tern, 23333, Muskeget Island, Massachusetts, June 21, 1884, J. C. 

Cahoon. 

3. Arctic tern, 15183, Sable Island, Nova Scotia, P. S. Dodd. 

4. Roseate tern, 12795, East Windsor Hill, Connecticut, Dr. Wood. 

5. Roseate tern, 21521, Cobb Island, Virginia, May 31, 1871, C. M. Jones. 

6. Roseate tern, 21521, Cobb Island, Virginia, May 31, 1871, C. M. Jones. 

7. Aleutian tern, 13471, Kodiak Island, Alaska, 1868, F. Bischoff. 

8. Aleutian tern, 17228, Saint Michael, Alaska, July 1, 1875, L. M. Turner. 

9. Trudeau's tern, J. E. Thayer collection, Saint Ambrose Island, Saint Felix 

Group, Chile, December 17, 1907, H. Ozan. 

Plate 92. 

1. Sooty tern, 23917, Ship Channel Keys, Bahamas, May 28, 1889, D. P. In- 

graham. 

2. Sooty tern, 9751, Jamaica, 1864, W. T. March. 

3. Sooty tern, 9790, Dry Tortugas, Florida, L. Greenwood. 

4. Sooty tern, 1751, Dry Tortugas, Florida, L. Greenwood. 

5. Bridled tern, 24823, Atwoods Island, Bahamas, May 14, 1891. 

6. Bridled tern, 24362, Samona Keys, Bahamas, June 14, 1891, D. P. Ingraham. 

7. Bridled tern, 24839, Atwoods Island, Bahamas, June 10, 1891. 

8. Bridled tern, 33060, Desecheo Island, Porto Rico, June 15, 1912, A. Wetmore. 

Plate 93. 

1. Noddy, 4989, Dry Tortugas, Florida, T. J. Greenwood. 

2. Least tern, 2948, Saint Georges Island, Florida, G. W. Maslin. 

3. Noddy, 4989, Dry Tortugas, Florida, T. J. Greenwood. 

4. Black tern, 21527, Camp Harney, Oregon, June 1, 1876, C. Bendire. 

5. Black tern, 21523, Pewaukee, Wisconsin, May 27, 1872, B. F. Goss. 

6. Black tern, 15177, Pewaukee, Wisconsin, 1869, B. F. Goss. 

7. White-winged black tern, A. C. Bent collection, Ungane, Hungary, May 28, 

1906. Kudeldorff collection. 

8. Black skimmer, 23318, Galveston, Texas, July 1, 1878, N. S. Goss. 

9. Least tern, 24349, Chincoteague, Virginia, June 5, 1888, M. H. Bickley. 
10. Black skimmer, 18147; Bone Island, Virginia, R. Ridgway. 



S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113, PL. H 





%*' ■ 



# * 







1 AND 2. POMARINE JAEGER 

3. Skua 
4 and 5. Parasitic Jaeger 



i-HGenJ.LB.6almnore 



J. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113, PL. 79 




1 and 2. Long-tailed Jaeger 

3. Ivory Gull 
4 and 5. Glaucous-winged Gull 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 338 



J. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113, PL. 



■.»• 



it 




^ -V jar » • * ^^Ltm^ 



*^* *.. . 






V, 









fw. 



* . 









•» 

3* 






6 






1 AND 2. KlTTIWAKE 

3 and 4. Pacific Kittiwake 

5 and 6. Red-legged Kittiwake 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 338 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113, PL. 81 




'** 



■r * "- 

- ... -* 








fc 



1 and 2. Glaucous Gull 
3 and 4. Iceland Gull 



:: -:■=. 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 338 



S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113. PL. 82 




V*. 



Uf 


it $ - 4 V«i. 






^ w r 


■ ".."' 


V «f> 











. : z'jy^r; 



1 and 2. Great Black-backed Gull 
3 and 4. Western Gull 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 338 



J. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 1 13, PL. 83 



0*m 



''. 3' 4 






*w». 



*■; 



*«* 



«... -* *-• 






/4 







is 



4 



*• 






• .' 



vt 



;* a* 



* 




k * . ■* V Vl 






'* W*', \ Xa 



A.Hoenl.Co.BaltJmore 



1 and 2. Herring Gull 
3 and 4. Vega gull 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 338 



S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113, PL. 84 











3 • f- r*Mi 



'4 > ^ >*' 



A.Hoen8iCo.Ballim[)rE 



1 and 2. Ring-billed Gull 
3, 4 and 5. California Gull 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 338 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113, PL. 85 



Mf 




- h:v v I; 5? racr; 



1 and 2. Short-billed Gull 

3. Mew Gull 
4 and 5. Heermann's Gull 

FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGES 338 AND 339 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 1 1 3, PL. 













t:-*i 



' 

/O^^ 








% 



% 










; 



I 



* 







\**r - 



vv,a 




i Hutni CD.Ealiimore 



1, 2 and 3. Laughing Gull 
4, 5 and 6. franklin's gull 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 339 



S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113, PL. 87 










1, 2 and 3. bonaparte's gull 
4. Little Gull 



5. Ross's Gull 
6, 7 and 8. Sabine's Gull 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 339 



J. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113, PL. 







< 




* 



• * 






?. 



>. 



« 



* % 







^ 









Z * I 












'• -\~ l .: := r. •■ 



1 and 2. Caspian Tern 
3, 4 and 5. Royal Tern 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 339 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 1 1 3, PL. 89 



^fi>«* * 



• * 



* • 




■ 







* * 



•■■■" 










* » i 






V -V: "■ • 



% 






T&# > »r .JP^ ^"Tr y 



AHuEnSl.oBcillirani'B 



1 , 2 and 3, Elegant Tern 
4, 5, 6 and 7, Cabot»s Tern 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 339 



I. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113, PL. 90 




**S 











*fcr-**4# 






Mr: * •• • . • - 




A.HcBn&Co 5iiii.~„r=. 



1 and 2 gull-billed tern 
3 and 4. forster's tern 
5, 6, 7 and 8. Common Tern 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGES 339 AND 34-0 



J. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113. PL. 91 







1 



tv 







■ 



". " v 













%*» 



* 



« *• 







*v 






>\%- % 









• * 



1 , 2 and 3. Arctic Tern 
4, 5 and 6. Roseate tern 



7 and 8. Aleutian Tern 
9. Trudeau's Tern 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 34-0 



S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 113, PL. 92 







-• v. J* 



4'. 



%&0 









* 






.•- • 






sifgSf? 




% -'t If' 4 



A.HDEnlCD.BaliimnrE 



1,2,3 and 4. Sooty Tern 
5, 6, 7 and 8. Bridled Tern 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 340 



S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BULLETIN 1 13, PL. 93 











/ y ■ 



H 



I 



r> 








■.V- «" * -'#•• 





10 



1 and 3. Noddy 

2 and 9. Least Tern 






4. 5 and 6. Black Tern 
7. White-winged Black Tern 
8 and 10. Black Skimmer 



FOR DESCRIPTION SEE PAGE 340 



INDEX 



Page. 

alba, Pagophila 29 

Aleutian tern 265 

aleutica, Sterna 265 

Allen, J. A. — 

on ring-billed gull .- 137 

on slaty-backed gull. 87 

anaetheta, Sterna ._ 287 

Anderson, R. M. — 

on black tern 296 

on parasitic jaeger 17 

Anous stolidus 301 

Anthony, A. W. — 

on Heermann's gull 151, 152 

on herring gull 112 

on parasitic jaeger 18 

on royal tern 217 

on western gull 96, 97 

antillarum, Sterna 270 

Arctic tern 249 

argentatus, Larus 102 

Arnold, Edward, on glaucous guH 53 

Arthur, S. C. — 

on black skimmer 313, 314, 316 

on Cabot's tern 223 

on Caspian tern 206 

on laughing gull 160 

Atkinson, G., on Franklin's gull 173 

atricilla, Larus 154 

Audubon, J. J. — 

on black skimmer _. 311 

on black tern 294 

on Cabot's tern 225, 226 

on Caspian tern 203, 209 

on Forster's tern 234 

on gull-billed tern 198, 200 

on herring gull 107 

fon kittiwake 40 

on least tern 277 

on long-tailed jaeger 27 

on mew gull 146 

on noddy 308 

on ring-billed gull 132, 133 

on roseate tern 258 

on royal tern 217 

on sooty tern 279, 280, 284, 285 

on Trudeau's tern 227 

Bailey, H. H.— 

on Cabot's tern 221 

on Caspian tern 203 

on gull-billed tern 197 

on Heermann's gull 153 

on herring gull 105, 106, 117 

on least tern - 271 

on royal tern 212 

Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway — 

on Bonaparte's gull 176 

on herring gull -L05 

on Iceland gull 64 

on ivory gull 31 

on roseate tern 256 258 



Page. 

Barrows, W. B., on Caspian tern 205 

Bartsch, Paul, on gull-billed tern 199 

Bendire, C. E., on ivory gull 31 

Bent, A. C— 

on Arctic tern 252 

on herring gull 115 

on parasitic jaeger 15 

Beyer, Allison, and Kopman, on Cas- 
pian tern 210 

Bishop, L. B., on common tern 247 

Bishop, W. L., on great black-backed 

gull 79 

black skimmer 310 

black tern 290 

Blanchan, Neltje, on Bonaparte's 

gull 178 

Bonaparte's gull 175 

Bowdish, B. S. — 

on bridled tern 288 

*m noddy 308 

on royal tern 212 

on sooty tern 281 

Bowles, J. H., on western gull 95 

brachyrhynehus, Larus 140 

brevirostris, Rissa 49 

Brewster, William — 

on Arctic tern 254 

on black tern 296 

on Caspian tern 203, 210 

on common tern 246 

on herring gull 113 

on kittiwake 40 

on least tern 270, 272 

on roseate tern 262 

on western gull 92 

bridled tern 287 

British lesser black-backed gull 99 

Brooks, W. S., on Thayer's gull 121 

Brown, W. W. — 

on elegant tern 219 

on Heermann's gull 148 

Bryant, W. E., on western gull 95 

Buturlin, S. A., on Ross's gull__ 183, 184, 

185, 186, 187, 188, 189 

Buxton, N. G., on slaty-backed gull 87 

Cabot's tern 221 

California gull , 124 

californicus, Larus 124 

Cantwell, G. G., on ring-billed gull__ 135 

canus, Larus 146 

caspia, Sterna 202 

Caspian tern 202 

Catharacta chilensis 7 

skua 1 

Cahoon, J. C, on least tern 270 

Chamberlain, M., on Cabot's tern 226 

Chambers, W. L., on least tern 275 

Chapman, F. M. — 

on black tern 293, 297 

on bridled tern : 287 

341 



342 



INDEX. 



Chapman, F. M. — Continued. 

on least tern 272 

on noddy 308 

on sooty tern , 285, 286 

Chilean skua 7 

chilensis. Catharacta 7 

Chlidonias leucoptera 299 

nigra surinamensis 299 

Clarke, W. E., on ivory gull 30, 34 

Cleaves, H. H., on great black-backed 

gull 79, 80, 83, 84 

Cole, A. A., on herring gull 102 

Collett, Robert, on ivory gull 29, 31, 32 

Collins, W. H., on Bonaparte's gull- 176 

common tern 236 

Cooke, W. W. — 

on Arctic tern 250 

on long-tailed jaeger 27 

on Sabine's gull 195 

Coues, Elliott — 

on Forster's tern 229 

on Heermann's gull 150 

on laughing gull 159 

on least tern 276 

on mew gull " 146 

on skua 2, 3 

Cox., J. E., on California gull 129 

Dalgleish, J. H., on Ross's gull 185 

Dall, W. H., on Pacific kittiwake 45 

Davie, Oliver, on California gull 127 

on gull-billed tern 199 

Dawson, W. L. — 

on California gull 130 

on Forster's tern 232, 234 

on glaucous-winged gull 72 

on Heermann's gull 152 

on sbort-billed gull 144 

on western gull 91, 93 

delawarensis, Larus 132 

Dill, H. R., on sooty tern 282 

dougalli, Sterna 256 

Dresser, H. E. — 

on little gull 181 

on skua 2 

Dutcher, William — 

on Arctic tern 254 

on California gull 129 

Dutcher and Bailey, on herring 

gull 105, 106, 117 

Dwight, Jonathan — 

on Bonaparte's gull 177 

on common tern 244 

on glaucous gull 56, 60 

on glaucous-winged gull 69 

on Iceland gull 63 

on Kumlien's gull 74 

on Nelson's gull 76 

on Thayer's gull 121 

Eifrig, C. W. G. — 

on parasitic jaeger 18 

on Sabine's gull 193 

Ekblaw, W. E.— 

on kittiwake 37 

on long-tailed jaeger 23 

on parasitic jaeger 19 

elegans, Sterna 219 



Page. 

elegant tern 219 

Elliott, H. W. — 

on glaucous gull 5g 

on Pacific kittiwake 45 

on red-legged kittiwake 49, 50 

Field, G. W., on bridled tern 288 

Figgins, J. D., on glaucous gull 54 

Finley, W. L.— 

on California gull 126, 128, 130 

on western gull 91, 93 

Fisher, A. K., on California gull 129 

Fisher, W. H., on least tern 271 

Fisher, W. K., on sooty tern 282 

Forbes, H. O., on British lesser black- 
backed gull___ 99, 100, 101 

Forbush, E. H., on least tern 275 

forsteri, Sterna 229 

Forster's tern 229 

franklini, Larus 163 

Franklin's gull 163 

Frazar, M. A. — 

on Caspian tern 203 

on great black-backed gull 82 

fuscata, Sterna 279 

fuscus affinis, Larus 99 

Gatke, Heinrich — 

on gull-billed tern 201 

on little gull 182 

Gelochelidon nilotica 197 

Gifford, E. W. — 

on noddy 309 

on sooty tern 282 

glaucescens, Larus 65 

glaucous gull 52 

glaucous-winged gull 65 

Goodwin, S. H., on California gull__ 129 

Goss, B. F., on Caspian tern 205 

Goss, N. S., on Forster's tern 231 

Gosse, P. H., on royal tern 217 

Gray, , on herring gull 108 

great black-backed gull 77 

Grinnell, Joseph — 

on Arctic tern 254 

on glaucous gull 53 

on parasitic jaeger 14, 16 

on short-billed gull 141, 144 

gull, Bonaparte's 175 

California 124 

Franklin's 163 

glaucous 52 

glaucous-winged 65 

great black-backed 77 

Heermann's 148 

herring 102 

Iceland 62 

ivory 29 

Kumlien's _ 73 

laughing 154 

little 180 

mew 146 

Nelson's 76 

ring-billed 132 

Ross's 183 

Sabine's - 191 

short-billed 140 

slaty-backed 86 



INDEX. 



343 



Page. 

gull, Thayer's 120 

Vega 12i 

western 89 

gull-billed tern 197 

Hagerup, A. T. — 

on glaucous gull 52, 57 

on Iceland gull 62, 64 

on kittiwake 36 

Hall, James, on Arctic tern 254 

Hatch, P. L.— 

on Caspian tern 203, 209 

on ring-billed gull 132 

Headley, F. W., on herring gull 113 

heermani, Larus 148 

Heermann, A. L., on western gull 96 

Heermann's gull 148 

Hennessey, F. C. — 

on long-tailed jaeger 26 

on pomarine jaeger 8 

Henninger, W. F. — 

on black tern__ 294, 297 

on slaty-backed gull 87 

Herrick — on herring gull 115 

herring gull 102 

Hersey, F. S. — 

on Aleutian tern 266 

on glaucous gull 58 

on long-tailed jaeger 26 

on Sabine's gull - 193, 194 

on short-billed gull 144 

Hill, C. B., on pomarine jaeger 8 

hirundo, Sterna 236 

Holland, A. H., on Trudeau's tern__ 227 

Howell, A. B., on western gull 93, 98 

hyberboreus, Larus 52 

Iceland gull 62 

ivory gull 29 

jaeger, long-tailed 21 

parasitic 14 

pomarine 7 

Job, H. K., on Franklin's gull 163 

Jones, Lynds — 

on Bonaparte's gull 178 

on common tern 241 

on glaucous-winged gull 67 

on roseate tern 259, 260, 263 

Jordan, A. H., on herring gull 105 

Keeler, C. A., on western gull 97 

Kelsey, F. W., on least tern 274 

King, Richard, on parasitic jaeger 18, 19 

kittiwake 36 

kittiwake, Pacific 44 

red-legged 49 

Knight, O. W. — 

on herring gull 110 

on kittiwake 38 

on least tern 277 

Knox, J. C, on black tern 292 

Koren, Johan, on long-tailed jaeger_ 22 
Kumlien, Ludwig — 

on glaucous gull 52, 54, 59 

on ivory gull 33, 34 

on Kumlien's gull 74 

on parasitic jaeger 17 

on pomarine jaeger. 8, 11 

174785—21 28 



Page. 
Kumlien and Hollister — 

on Bonaparte's gull 176 

on white-winged black tern 299 

kumlieni, Larus 73 

Kumlien's gull 73 

Langille, J. H., on laughing gull 161 

Laridae 29 

Larus argentatus 102 

atricilla 154 

" brachyrhynchus 140 

calif ornicus 124 

canus 146 

delawarensis 132 

franklini 163 

fuscus affinis 99 

giaucescens 65 

heermanni 148 

hyperboreus 52 

kumlieni '. 73 

leucopterus 62 

marinus 77 

minutus 180 

nelsoni 7(5 

occidentalis 86 

Philadelphia 175 

schistisagus 86 

thayeri 120 

vegae 122 

laughing gull 154 

Lawrence, G. N. — 

on Forster's tern 229 

on noddy 305 

least tern 270 

lesser black-backed gull, British 99 

leucoptera, Chlidonias . 299 

leucopterus, Larus 62 

little gull 180 

longicaudus, Stercorarius 21 

long-tailed jaeger 21 

Mabbett, Gideon, on least tern 274 

MacFarlane, Roderick — 

on Bonaparte's gull 176 

on glaucous gull , 54 

on parasitic jaeger 14 

on short-billed gull 142 

Macgillivray, William — 

on British lesser black-backed 

gull 99, 101 

on great black-backed gull 83 

on kittiwake 41 

on mew gull 147 

on skua 2, 4 

on white-winged black tern 301 

Mackay, G. H. — 

on herring gull 112 

on laughing gull 161 

on roseate tern 256, 258 

Mannicbe, A. L. V. — 

on ivory gull 34 

on long-tailed jaeger 23, 26 

marinus, Larus 77 

Mars, F. St., on skua 1, 4 

maxima, Sterna -. 211 

Maynard, C. J., on sooty tern 286 

McCormick, A. I., on least tern 274 



344 



INDEX. 



Page. 

McGregor, R. C, on Arctic tern 252 

Mcllwraith, Thomas, on glaucous 

gull 60 

mew gull 14(3 

Meyer, G. R., on herring gull_ 104, 106, 107 
Miller, O. T. — 

oa Franklin's gull 172 

on herring gull 115 

minutus, Larus 180 

Moodie-Heddle, on British lesser 

black-backed gull 99 

Morris, F. O. — 

on Cabot's tern 224, 226 

on skua 2, 4 

on white-winged black tern__ 300, 301 

Morris, G. S., on least tern 271 

Moses, Allen, on pomarine jaeger 11 

Murdoch, John — 

on glaucous gull . 57, 59 

on Ross's gull 189 

Nelson, E. W. — 

on Aleutian tern 265, 267, 268, 269 

on Arctic tern 251 

on black tern 293 

on glaucous gull 52, 54, 58 

on glaucous-winged gull 68 

on Heermann's gull 153 

on long-tailed jaeger 21, 25, 26, 27 

on Pacific kittiwake 45, 47 

on parasitic jaeger 14, 15, 16, 

17, 18, 19 

on pomarine jaeger 8, 12 

on Sabine's gull 191, 192, 195 

on short-billed gull 143, 144 

on sooty tern 284 

nelsoni, Larus 76 

Nelson's gull 76 

nigra, Rynchops 310 

nigra surinamensis, Chlidonias 290 

nilotica, Gelochelidon 197 

noddy 301 

Norton, A. H. — 

on Bonaparte's gull 17S 

on ivory gull 34 

on little gull 181 

Nuttall, Thomas — 

on Bonaparte's gull 177 

on glaucous gull 57, 59 

on ivory gull 34 

Oberholser, H. C, on glaucous gull — 60 

occidentalis, Larus 89 

Osborn, P. I., on Heermann's gull — 149 

Ozan, Herbert, on Trudeau's tern 228 

Pacific kittiwake 44 

pacifica, Catharacta 7 

Pagophila alba 29 

Palmer, William — 

on Arctic tern 254 

on glaucous-winged gull-.. 68 

on Pacific kittiwake__«. «.-«• 47 

on red-legged kittiwake 51 

paradisaea, Sterna 249 

parasitic jaeger 14 

parasiticus, Stercorarius 14 

Parry, W. E., on Arctic tern 252 



Page. 

Peabody, P. B., on Forster's tern___ 229, 

234, 235 

Pearson, T. G., on Cabot's tern 221 

Philadelphia, Larus 175 

Philipp, P. B., on royal tern 212 

pomarine jaeger 7 

pomarinus, Stercorarius 7 

Preble, E. A. — 

on parasitic jaeger is 

on short-billed gull 143 

Preston, J. W., on Franklin's gull_ 172, 173 
Ray, M. S.— 

on Forster's tern 232 

on westex-n gull 91 

red-legged kittiwake 49 

Rbodostethia rosea 183 

Rich, W. H. — 

on kittiwake 42 

on long-tailed jaeger 26 

on pomarine jaeger 12 

on skua 4, 5, 6 

Richardson, John — 

on Bonaparte's gull 175 

on parasitic jaeger 16 

Ridgway, Robert — 

on glaucous gull 60 

on royal tern 212 

on skua 2 

ring-billed gull 132 

Rissa brevirostris— 49 

tridactyla pollicaris 44 

tridactyla 36 

Rives, W. C, on gull-billed tern 197 

Roberts, T. S., on Franklin's gull- 166, 167, 

170, 173 
Rockwell, R. B., on Forster's tern. 231, 235 

rosea, Rhodostethia 183 

roseate tern 256 

Ross, J. C, on Iceland gull 62 

Ross's gull 183 

royal tern 211 

Russell, Frank, on parasitic jaeger 15 

Rynchopidae 310 

Rynchops nigra 310 

Sabine's gull 191 

sabini, Xema 191 

sandvicensis acuflavida, Sterna 221 

Saunders, Arthur, on herring gull — 115 
Saunders, Howard — 

on ivory gull 32 

on mew gull 147 

schistisagus, Larus 86 

Scott, W. E. D.— 

on Cabot's tern 223 

on least tern 272 

on noddy 301 

Selby, P. J.— 

on Cabot's tern 224 

on ivory gull 33. 34 

Selous, Edmund, on kittiwake 36 

Sennett, G. B., on Forster's tern 231 

Seton, E.T.— 

on herring gull 112 

on parasitic jaeger . 18 

short-billed gull 140 



INDEX. 



345 



Page. 

skimmer, black 310 

skua 1 

Catharacta 1 

Chilean 7 

slaty-backed gull 86 

sooty tern ___ 279 

Stejneger, Leonhard — 

on Pacific kittiwake 45 

on red-legged kittiwake 49 

Stercorariidae 1 

Stercorarius, longicaudus_„ 21 

parasiticus . 14 

pomarinus 7 

Sterna aleutica 265 

anaetheta 287 

antillarum 270 

caspia 202 

dougalli 256 

elegans 219 

forsteri 229 

fuscata 279 

hirundo 236 

maxima. 211 

paradisaea 249 

sandvicensis acuflavida 221 

trudeaui 227 

stolidus, Anous 301 

Stone, Witmer — 

on gull-billed tern 197 

on laughing gull 155 

on least tern 271 

Strong, R. M., on herring gull 107, 115 

Suckley, George, on Heermann's gull- 151 
Swainson and Richardson, on glau- 
cous gull 57 

tern, Aleutian 265 

Arctic 249 

black 290 

bridled 287 

Cabot's . 221 

Caspian 202 

common 236 

elegant 219 

Forster's 229 

gull-billed 197 

least 270 

roseate r 256 

royal 211 

sooty 279 

Trudeau's 227 

white-winged black 299 

Thayer and Bangs — 

on long-tailed jaeger 22 

on parasitic jaeger 14, 16 

Thayer, J. E. — 

on elegant tern 219 

on Heermann's gull 148 

Thayer's gull 1 120 

thayeri, Larus 120 

Thompson, E. E., on black tern 296, 297 



Thompson, Joseph — Page. 

on noddy 309 

on sooty tern 280 

Townsend and Allen, on mew gull 146 

Townsend, C. W. — 

on Arctic tern 249 

on Bonaparte's gull 178 

on common tern 243, 245, 246, 247 

on great black-backed gull 85 

on herring gull 102 

on Iceland gull 62 

on ivory gull 34 

on kittiwake 40, 41, 42 

on little gull 180 

on mew gull 146 

on parasitic jaeger 14 

on ring-billed gull 134 

tridactyla pollicaris, Rissa 44 

tridactyla, Rissa 36 

Tristram, Canon, on little gull 182 

trudeaui, Sterna 227 

Trudeau's tern 227 

Turner, L. M. — 

on Aleutian tern 269 

on Arctic tern 251, 252 

on glaucous gull 52, 58 

on kittiwake 42 

on long-tailed jaeger 21, 25, 26 

on parasitic jaeger 18 

on short-billed gull 140, 143 

Tuttle, A. W., on pomarine jaeger 11 

Vega gull 122 

vegae, Larus 122 

Ward, H. L., on herring gull 103, 

105, 107, 108, 114, 115 

Warren, B. EL, on least tern 277 

Watson, J. B. — 

on noddy 302, 

303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309 

on sooty tern 280, 283, 285 

Wayne, A. T. — 

on black skimmer 312 

on least tern 272 

on long-tailed jaeger 27 

Wells, J. G., on laughing gull 160 

western gull 89 

Wetmore, Alexander, on bridled tern_ 289 

Whitaker, J. R., on glaucous gull 53 

white-winged black tern 299 

Willett, George, on glaucous-winged 

gull 69 

Wilson, Alexander, on gull-billed 

tern 200 

Xema sabini 191 

Yarrell, William — 

on glaucous gull 57 

on gull-billed tern 201 

on ivory gull 32, 34 

on long-tailed jaeger 23 

on noddy 307 

on Sandwich tern 226 

on skua 2, 3 

on white-winged black tern 300, 301 



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